The Firm Thriller Novel

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1 The Firm - John Grisham
Chapter 1: Mitchell McDeere
Mitchell Y. McDeere was twenty-five years old. He was about to raduate in the to!
five from Harvard "aw #chool. He had a beautiful wife$ %bby. He was white$ handsome$
tall and !hysically fit. He didn&t ta'e drus or drin' too much. %nd he was hunry. He
wanted it all( money$ !ower$ a bi house$ a fast car . . . He urently wanted to succeed.
)n other words$ he was !erfect for the Mem!his law firm of *endini$ "ambert +
"oc'e. ,very one of the twenty !artners in the firm was iven a thic' file on him. They
'new that he had been born in !overty in -entuc'y and brouht u! by his mother after
his father&s death. They 'new that she had wasted the money the army ave her after her
eldest son&s death in .ietnam$ and that only the other brother$ /ay$ had cared for him.
They 'new that he had won a !lace at 0estern -entuc'y 1niversity because he was ood
at football$ and had raduated to! of his class. They could see the !overty hurt$ and that
he wanted to climb away from it.
2ow he was about to leave Harvard. Two firms in 2ew Yor' and one in 3hicao
were interested in him$ accordin to the file. The hihest offer was 456$777 and the
lowest was 468$777. %ll the !artners areed that he was the one they wanted. They
needed a new associate this year and they wanted it to be him. The first interview$ in a
hotel near Harvard$ went well. 9liver "ambert too' with him "amar :uin$ an associate
who had been with the firm for seven years$ and offered Mitch 487$777$ a new *M0 and
hel! in buyin a house.
Mitch was interested$ of course. "ambert invited him down to Mem!his to visit the
firm. He said he would send the air tic'ets. The fiure of 487$777 started Mitch and %bby
dreamin. &,ihty thousand in Mem!his is the same as one hundred and twenty thousand
in 2ew Yor'$& Mitch said. &0e&ll be able to afford almost anythin we want. %nd it&s only
the money )&ll start at( in two years )&ll be into si; fiures. They say that on averae an
associate becomes a !artner in about ten years$ and then )&ll be earnin about half a
million dollars a year< %nd what about the car and the house=&
&0ho wants 2ew Yor'=& %bby said$ smilin$ and thin'in about their rusty Ma>da
and about new furniture in a bi old house ? and dreamin of babies. &0hat sort of wor'
is it=&
&Ta;es$& Mitch said$ &which is what ) en@oy. %nd we both hate the cold weather in the
north-east. The firm s!eciali>es in international ta; law. *endini started it in 1ABB. He
had a lot of clients in the south$ so he moved down to Mem!his. %nd obviously everyone
who wor's there loves it( they say that members very rarely leave the firm.&
&%nd you&d be closer to /ay.&
&True.&
&)f they&re offerin so much$ why doesn&t everybody 'now about them and try to wor'
there=&
&"ambert says they li'e to stay small. There are only forty-one members in all. They
et one new member every two years$ and they a!!roach him rather than the other
way round.&
&0hy would they hel! us with a house=& %bby as'ed.
C The Firm - John Grisham
&)t&s im!ortant to the firm that their members stay ha!!y and loo' rich. )t hel!s to
brin business in.&
&Mem!his$ here we come$& said %bby. &) li'e this firm already.&
Chapter 2: Bendini, Lambert and Locke
*endini had loved the firm&s office buildinD he had also loved secrecy. *efore his
death in 1A57 he had filled the 177-year-old buildin with electronic surveillance
eEui!ment$ as well as with every lu;ury money could buy. 9nly a few s!ecial members
could enter certain !arts of the buildin.
)n twenty years *endini built the richest law firm in Mem!his. )t was also definitely
the Euietest. ,very associate hired by the firm was tauht the evils of a loose tonue.
,verythin was secret ? es!ecially clients& business. Youn associates were warned that
tal'in about the firm&s business outside the firm could delay the !ri>e of a !artnershi!.
2othin left the buildin on Front #treet. 0ives were told not to as' Euestions ? or were
lied to. The associates were e;!ected to wor' hard$ 'ee! Euiet and s!end their healthy
incomes.
"amar :uin met Mitch at the entrance to the buildin. %fter an embarrassin s!eech
by 9liver "ambert in front of all the other associates in the second-floor library$ "amar
too' him on a tour of the office. There were e;cellent libraries on the first four floors of
the five-floor buildin$ so that no member needed to leave the office to
find out anythin.
The first four floors were almost the same. The centre of each floor was filled with
secretaries$ their des's and the necessary machines. 9n one side of the o!en area was the
library and on the other were offices and smaller conference-rooms. Fartners ot the lare
corner offices$ with wonderful views over the river and the city.
&You won&t see any !retty secretaries$& "amar said softly as they watched them wor'.
&These are the best leal secretaries in Mem!his$ but they also have to be over a
certain ae. The firm li'es its members to have steady marriaes. *abies are
encouraed. 9f course wives are not forbidden to wor'.&
&) ho!e not$& said Mitch$ !u>>led by the word &forbidden&. He decided to chane the
sub@ect. &Does every lawyer et his own secretary=&
&Yes$ until you&re a !artner. Then you&ll et another$ and by then you&ll need one.
2athan "oc'e has three$ all with twenty years& e;!erience$ and he 'ee!s them busy.
You&ll find that the wor' ta'es at least eihty hours a wee' at first. %nd there&s always
more if you want it. ,veryone wor's a hundred hours a wee' durin ta; season. 0e
et well !aid$ all riht$ but we earn it$ believe me.&
&0hat about holidays=&
&Two wee's a year for the first five years. ) 'now that doesn&t sound li'e very much$
but the firm does own a cou!le of beach houses in the 3ayman )slands$ and you can
usually et one for your holiday ? as lon as a !artner doesn&t want it$ of course. 0e
do a lot of business in the 3aymans$ as well$ because the islands are ta;-free. 2athan
"oc'e&s there at the moment$ in fact$ which is why you can&t meet him today.&
G The Firm - John Grisham
Mitch had lunch with the !artners in their s!ecial dinin-room on the fifth floor.
%ain the enerous !ublic !raise was embarrassin$ but !leasin. Mitch wanted a beer to
hel! him feel comfortable$ but loo'in round he saw that no one had any alcohol$ and he
learned that drin'in at lunch-time was not li'ed by the firm. 2or was heavy drin'in at
any time. They wanted members they could rely on. That was all riht with Mitch. He
was determined to succeed.
*y the time Mitch left the buildin in the evenin$ after a meetin with /oyce
Mc-niht to discuss further details of his contract$ he had decided( there could be no
better offer in the whole country.
Chapter 3: The Fifth Floor
There were no law offices on the fifth floor of the *endini *uildin. The !artners&
dinin-room and 'itchen filled the west end$ then in the centre there were some em!ty
rooms$ and then there was a wall. )n the centre of the wall was a small metal door with
a button beside it and a camera over it. This o!ened on to a small room where an armed
uard watched the door and studied a lare number of television surveillance screens. %
hall went !ast the offices and wor'rooms of a number of men whose @ob was to watch
and to ather information. The windows to the outside world were !ainted over.
De.asher$ the head of security$ had the larest of these small$ !lain offices.
9n the Monday after Mitch McDeere&s visit$ 9liver "ambert stood in front of the
small metal door and stared at the camera over it. He !ushed the button$ waited and was
finally allowed in. He wal'ed Euic'ly alon the hall and entered De.asher&s office. They
tal'ed a bit about McDeere. De.asher re!orted that$ as far as he and his men could tell$
Mitch would not be a security ris' for the firm. He !layed "ambert a ta!e of !hone calls
from Mitch&s hotel room in Mem!his to %bby in Massachusetts.
&.ery lovin conversations$ you see$ 9llie$& De.asher said with an evil rin on his
face. &They&re @ust li'e a newly married cou!le. )&ll try to et you some bedroom !ictures
later. ) 'now how much you en@oy those. #he is lovely.&
&#hut u!$ De.asher$& "ambert said$ and then$ after a !ause$ &) wish we could find his
brother /ay. 0e 'now everythin about his family$ and hers$ but we @ust can&t find
this brother.&
&Don&t worry$ 9llie$& De.asher said. &0e&ll find him.& De.asher closed the McDeere
file and o!ened another$ much thic'er one. "ambert stared at the floor.
&0hat&s the latest=& he as'ed softly.
&)t&s not ood news$ 9llie. -o>ins'i and Hode are definitely wor'in toether now.
"ast wee' the F*) chec'ed -o>ins'i&s house and found our bus.H -o>ins'i told
Hode when they were hidin in the third-floor library. 2ow they thin' everythin&s
bued and they&re very careful where they tal'.&
H Bug: a small hidden microphone.
&0hich F*) aent is involved=&
B The Firm - John Grisham
&Tarrance. He seems to be in chare.&
&How often has he tal'ed to -o>ins'i=&
&There&s no way to 'now. 0e 'now of four meetins in the last month$ but ) sus!ect
more. They&re bein real careful.&
&How much has he iven them=&
&2ot much$ ) ho!e. They&re still tryin to !ersuade him. He&s frihtened. Hode hasn&t
tal'ed to the F*) yet$ ) don&t thin'. He&ll do whatever -o>ins'i does.&
&0hat have you told "a>arov=&
&,verythin. That&s my @ob. They want you in 3hicao the day after tomorrow. They
want answers$ and !lans.&
&0hat !lans=&
&Flans to et rid of -o>ins'i$ Hode and Tarrance$ if it becomes necessary.&
&Tarrance< %re you cra>y= 0e can&t et rid of an F*) aent<&
&"a>arov is stu!id$ 9llie$ you 'now that. %nd that&s what he wants from you. 9f
course$ if he does 'ill Tarrance$ the F*) will be all over the !lace$ and all of you
lawyers will suddenly have to leave the country.&
&Try to arue with him$ will you= %nd watch McDeere for another month.&
&9-$ 9llie. Don&t worry.&
Chapter 4: Sad e!"
0hen the McDeeres moved down to Mem!his they stayed with the :uins. The two
cou!les became ood friends. )t didn&t ta'e Mitch and %bby lon to find a house to buy$
on a street called ,ast Meadowbroo'. %fter they moved in they were com!letely ha!!y.
The new house was everythin they had dreamed about( lare$ comfortable and in a ood
neihbourhood. %bby went mad buyin furniture$ while Mitch drove the new blac'
*M0 all around town$ ettin to 'now the area. The Thursday before Mitch was due to
start wor' they drove over to the :uins& house for dinner.
&2ow that you&ve s!ent ne;t year&s income on furniture$& Mitch said on the way there$
&what ne;t=&
&9h$ ) don&t 'now$& %bby said. &How about babies=&
&Hey$ slow down. "et me et settled first<&
%bby lauhed and sat bac' in her seat. Mitch admired her les.
&0hen did ) last tell you you were beautiful=& he as'ed.
&%bout two hours ao.&
&Two whole hours< How thouhtless of me<&
&/iht. Don&t let it ha!!en aain.&
They !ar'ed behind the :uins& two Mercedes. -ay met them at the front door. Her
eyes were red from cryin.
&9h$ -ay$ what&s the matter=& %bby as'ed.
&There&s . . . there&s been a traedy$& she said.
&0ho is it=& Mitch as'ed.
-ay wi!ed her eyes and breathed dee!ly. &Two members of the firm$ Marty -o>ins'i
and Joe Hode$ were 'illed today. 0e were very close to them.&
I The Firm - John Grisham
Mitch remembered them from his visit to the firm. &0hat ha!!ened=& he as'ed.
&2o one&s sure$& -ay said. &They were on Grand 3ayman$ divin. There was some
'ind of e;!losion on the boat and we thin' they drowned. % boatman was also 'illed.
There was a meetin in the firm a few hours ao and they were all told about it.
"amar could hardly drive home.&
&0here is he=& Mitch as'ed.
&*y the swimmin-!ool. He&s waitin for you.&
"amar was @ust sittin there$ dee! in shoc'. Mitch sat down ne;t to him and waited.
"amar shoo' his head and tried to s!ea'$ but no words came. His eyes were red and he
loo'ed hurt. Finally$ Mitch said$
&"amar$ )&m so sorry. ) wish ) could say somethin.&
&There&s nothin to say. Marty -o>ins'i was one of my best friends. He was oin to
be the ne;t !artner. He was a reat lawyer$ one we all admired. 9ur . . . our children
always !layed toether.&
Mitch and %bby drove home in silence. Four days later$ instead of startin behind his
des' at the office$ Mitch and his lovely wife @oined the remainin thirty-nine members of
the firm$ and their lovely wives$ and said oodbye to Marty -o>ins'i and Joe Hode.
9liver "ambert ave such a beautiful s!eech that even Mitchell McDeere$ who had
buried a father and a brother$ was moved close to tears. %bby&s eyes watered at the siht
of the widows and children.
Chapter #: Lon$ %o&r"
Mitch learned fast. He was a!!ointed to wor' with one of the !artners$ %very
Tolleson$ and hel!ed him with several of his clients. He learned to res!ect %very&s talent
for hard wor'. %very tauht Mitch all about billin clients for his time. %s an associate he
could bill 4177 an hour. His future !roress at the firm$ he was warned$ de!ended on how
much income he made for the firm. He learned that it was acce!table to bill clients more
than he actually wor'ed. &)f you thin' about a client while you&re drivin over to the office
in the mornin$& %very told him$ &add on another hour.& He could bill clients for twelve
hours a day$ even if he never wor'ed twelve hours a day. Mitch also learned that %very
li'ed to bend the firm&s rules. His marriae was brea'in u! and his eyes followed every
ood-loo'in woman he saw on the streets. He also dran' at lunch-times.
From %very and the other !artners Mitch learned the way thins were done at
*endini$ "ambert + "oc'e. He learned that secrecy was valued hihlyD he learned to tal'
to no one outside the firm$ not even %bby. Mitch was determined to become a !artner in
less time than anyone else ever had before. He was determined to earn the firm more
money than any associate ever had before. He had heard the stories about how many
hours !eo!le wor'edD even si;teen hours a day was not un'nown in the firm.
)t was said that 2athan "oc'e started wor' at si; a.m. every day. 9n his first full day
Mitch arrived at the office at I.G7. 2o one else was there. He climbed the stairs to his
office on the second floor$ made himself a cu! of coffee and bean to wor'. %fter a while
6 The Firm - John Grisham
he ot u! from his des' and went over to the window. )t was still dar' outside. He didn&t
notice the fiure suddenly a!!ear at his door.
&Good mornin.&
Mitch turned round from the window.
&You frihtened me$& he said.
&)&m sorry. )&m 2athan "oc'e. ) don&t believe we&ve met.&
&)&m Mitch McDeere$ the new man.& They shoo' hands.
&Yes$ ) 'now.&
Mitch could not sto! himself starin at the man&s eyes. 2athan "oc'e&s eyes were
cold and 'nowin. They were the most evil eyes he had ever seen.
&) see you&re an early riser$& "oc'e was sayin.
&Yes$ sir.&
&0ell$ it&s ood to have you in the firm.&
J
%fter a few days De.asher$ "ambert and "oc'e had a meetin. They were sure Mitch
could not 'ee! oin( nobody could wor' a hundred hours a wee' for more than a few
months.
&How&s his wife ta'in it=& "ambert as'ed.
&This will chane$ but at the moment ) can only hear his side of the conversations$&
De.asher said. &#he&s not delihted. #he&s !ractisin her coo'in for the first time and
he&s ettin sandwiches from the sho!s$ because he&s never home in time for dinner.&
&0hat do you mean$ KThis will chaneK=& as'ed "oc'e.
&) mean 3hicao is still worried$ you 'now= 0e don&t thin' -o>ins'i and Hode told
the F*) anythin im!ortant$ but "a>arov wants to be safe. He wants the homes of all
associates bued.&
&Don&t you thin' that&s oin a bit too far=& as'ed "ambert.
&3hicao doesn&t thin' so.&
&%ll of them$ even McDeere=&
&Yes. ) thin' Tarrance will try aain. 9h$ and before ) foret$ we&ve found McDeere&s
brother /ay ? or rather$ McDeere led us to him. He&s in *rushy Mountain Frison$
near 2ashville. He accidentally 'illed someone in a bar fiht and the court ave him
fifteen years. He&s done four of them. McDeere went to visit him last #unday. )
wonder if we could use this as a lever aainst McDeere$ if we ever need to.&
Chapter ': ( Tin) Microphone
Mitch didn&t slow down( he became a machine. He had never needed
as much slee! as other !eo!le and now this was to his advantae.
However much wor' %very Tolleson threw at him$ he manaed to et
throuh it. #ometimes he wor'ed all throuh the niht$ and found an
unsmilin %bby waitin for him when he came home at dawn for a
Euic' shower before returnin to the office.
11
9liver "ambert invited the McDeeres$ the :uins and two other
5 The Firm - John Grisham
associates and their wives to dinner one #aturday at Justine&s$ his
favourite restaurant.
2ot lon after Mitch and %bby entered the restaurant$ two men
with the correct 'ey entered the shiny blac' *M0 in the car !ar' of
Justine&s. They drove away from the restaurant to the new home of Mr
and Mrs McDeere. They !ar'ed the *M0 in its usual !lace. The
driver ot another 'ey out of his !oc'et and the two men entered the
house.
They wor'ed Euic'ly and Euietly. % tiny micro!hone$ no bier
than a finernail$ was stuc' into the mouth!iece of each !hone in the
house. The sinals from these micro!hones would o to a receiver in
the s!ace under the roof of the house.
Then the men turned their attention to each room. % small hole was
made in the corner of every room$ hih u! where no one would notice
it. % tiny micro!hone was !laced inside each hole. % wire$ no thic'er
than a human hair and com!letely invisible$ ran from each
micro!hone to the receiver. The receiver loo'ed e;actly li'e an old$
bro'en radio$ and it @oined other old ob@ects that were already there in
a corner under the roof. )t would not be noticed for months$ maybe
years. %nd if it was noticed$ it would sim!ly be thrown away as
rubbish. The receiver$ of course$ would also send sinals from the
house bac' to the fifth floor at *endini$ "ambert + "oc'e.
Just as the fish was served at Justine&s$ the *M0 !ar'ed Euietly
ne;t to the restaurant. The driver loc'ed the car door. )t was the
Mahans ne;t. %t least they lived closer to the restaurant than the
McDeeres$ and had a smaller house$ so the wor' would be easier.
J
9n the fifth floor of the *endini *uildin$ De.asher stared at rows of
lihts and waited for some sinal from 1CG1 ,ast
1C
Meadowbroo'. The dinner !arty had finished thirty minutes earlier
and it was time to listen. % tiny yellow liht shone wea'ly and he !ut
a !air of head!hones on. He !ushed a button to record. He waited. %
reen liht mar'ed &McD-6& bean to shine. )t was the bedroom. The
voices started to come in loud and clear.
&) don&t li'e Jill Mahan$& the female voice$ Mrs McDeere$ was
sayin. &Her husband&s 9-$ but she&s really un!leasant.&
&%re you drun'=& as'ed Mr McDeere.
&%lmost. )&m ready for se;.&
De.asher bent his head closer towards his surveillance eEui!ment$
to listen better.
&Ta'e your clothes off$& Mrs McDeere demanded.
&0e haven&t done this for a while$& said Mr McDeere.
&%nd whose fault is that=& she as'ed.
&) haven&t forotten how. You&re beautiful.&
&Get in the bed$& she said.
8 The Firm - John Grisham
De.asher closed his eyes and watched them.
3ha!ter 5 Tarrance
9n the first Monday in %uust a eneral meetin was called in the
main library on the first floor. ,very member was there. The mood
was Euiet and sad. *eth -o>ins'i and "aura Hode were !olitely
brouht in by 9liver "ambert. They were seated at the front of the
room. )n front of them$ on the wall$ were !ictures of their husbands.
9liver "ambert stood with his bac' to the wall and ave a s!eech.
He almost whis!ered at first$ but the !ower of his voice made every
sound clear throuhout the room. He loo'ed at the two widows and
told of the dee! sadness the firm felt$ and how they would always be
ta'en care of as lon as there was a firm. He tal'ed of Marty and Joe$
of their first few years with the firm$ of
1G
their im!ortance to the firm. He s!o'e of their love for their families.
The widows held hands and cried softly. -o>ins'i&s and Hode&s
closest friends$ li'e "amar :uin and Dou Turney$ were wi!in their
eyes.
%fter the s!eech Mitch went over to loo' at the !ictures. There
were three other !ictures on the wall as well. 9ne was of a womanD
underneath the !icture were the words &%lice -nauss$ 1AB8-1A55&. He
had heard about her( the only woman ever to become a member of the
firm$ she was 'illed in a car crash @ust three years after @oinin. The
other two !ictures were of /obert "amm and John Mic'el. He as'ed
%very about them. "amm was out huntin in %r'ansas one day in
1A57 and didn&t return. He was found eventually with a bullet in his
head. ,veryone su!!osed it was a huntin accident. Mic'el shot
himself in 1A8B. Five dead lawyers in fifteen years. )t was a danerous
!lace to wor'.
J
Mitch was always the first to arrive at the office and often the last to
leave as well. The !artners were delihted with his !roress and
rewarded him with e;tra money. %bby ot a @ob as a teacher at a local
school$ so that she wasn&t @ust sittin around the house$ bored. Mitch&s
ability to wor' lon hours was already a leend$ but she didn&t want to
be married to a leendD she wanted a flesh-and-blood !erson ne;t to
her.
/ecently Mitch had started havin his lunch sometimes in a small
cafe about half a mile from the *endini *uildin. )t was a dar' hole in
the wall with few customers and bad food. He li'ed it because no one
else from the firm went there$ so he could sit Euietly and read leal
documents while he ate. He could always bill the client for his time.
9ne day while he was there a straner a!!roached his table
1B
The widows held hands and cried softly.
and stood ne;t to it. Mitch !ut down his document. &3an ) hel! you=&
A The Firm - John Grisham
he as'ed.
The straner said$ &You&re McDeere$ aren&t you=&
Mitch studied him. Judin by his accent$ he was from 2ew Yor'.
He was about forty$ with short hair$ and was wearin a chea! suit.
&Yeah$& he said. &0ho are you=&
)n re!ly the man !ulled a bade out of his !oc'et. &0ayne
Tarrance$ F*).& He waited for a reaction.
&#it down$& Mitch said.
&Than's.& %fter he sat down$ Tarrance said$ &) heard you were the
new man at *endini$ "ambert + "oc'e.&
&0hy would that interest the F*)=&
&0e watch that firm Euite closely.&
&0hy=&
&) can&t tell you at the moment. 0e have our reasons$ but ) didn&t
come here to tal' about them. ) came here to meet you$ and to warn
you about the firm.&
&)&m listenin$& Mitch said.
&Three thins. First$ don&t trust anyone. #econd$ every word you
say$ at home or in the office$ is !robably bein recorded.&
Mitch watched and listened carefullyD Tarrance was en@oyin this.
&%nd the third thin=& he as'ed.
&Money doesn&t row on trees.&
&0hat do you mean by that=&
&) can&t say more at the moment. ) thin' you and ) will become very
close. ) want you to trust me$ and ) 'now )&ll have to earn your trust.
#o ) don&t want to move too fast. 0e can&t meet at your office or at my
office$ and we can&t tal' on the !hone. #o from time to time )&ll come
and find you. For now$ @ust remember those three thins$ and be
careful. Here&s my home !hone number. You won&t want to call me
yet$ but you&ll
16
need it sometime. *ut call me only from a !ay !hone. )f )&m
not in$ leave a messae on the machine.&
Mitch !ut it in his shirt !oc'et.
&There&s one other thin$& Tarrance said as he stood u!. &You had
better 'now that Hode&s and -o>ins'i&s deaths weren&t accidental.&
He loo'ed down at Mitch with both hands in his !oc'ets$ smiled$ and
left before Mitch could as' any more Euestions.
J
The ne;t day Mitch had an o!!ortunity to o and see "amar. He
wal'ed into his office and closed the door. &0e need to tal'$& he said.
)f he believed Tarrance the office was bued and the conversation
would be recorded. He was not sure whom to believe.
&You sound serious$& "amar said.
&Did you ever hear of someone called 0ayne Tarrance=&
&2o.&
17 The Firm - John Grisham
T*).&
"amar closed his eyes. &F*)$& he whis!ered.
&That&s riht. He had a bade and everythin.&
&0here did you meet him=&
&He found me in "ans'y&s 3afe on 1nion #treet. He 'new who )
was.&
&Have you told %very=&
&2o. 2o one e;ce!t you. )&m not sure what to do.&
"amar !ic'ed u! the !hone and s!o'e to %very Tolleson. 0ithin a
few minutes Mitch and "amar were u! in "ambert&s office. %very$
"ambert$ /oyce Mc-niht$ Harold 9&-ane and 2athan "oc'e were
there$ sittin around a conference table.
&Have a seat$& said "oc'e with a false smile.
&0hat&s that=& Mitch !ointed to a ta!e recorder in the centre of the
table.
&0e don&t want to miss anythin$& "oc'e said.
15
&9-$& Mitch said. He re!eated his conversation with Tarrance.
"oc'e stared at Mitch with his dar' eyes while he was s!ea'in$
and as soon as he had finished he as'ed$ &Have you ever seen this man
before=&
&2ever.&
&0hom did you tell=&
&9nly "amar.&
&Your wife=&
&2o.&
&Did he leave you a !hone number to call=&
&2o.&
The ta!e recorder was switched off. "oc'e wal'ed to the window.
&Mitch$& he said$ &we&ve had trouble with the F*) and the ta; !eo!le for
several years now. #ome of our clients li'e us to ta'e ris's for them.
0e do thins for them which are not Euite illeal$ but which are close
to the ede. %nd li'e any firm of ta; lawyers with clients as rich as
ours$ the F*) occasionally has to investiate some of our clients.
2aturally$ they investiate us at the same time. Tarrance is new down
here$ and he&s tryin to score a bi win. He&s danerous. You are not to
s!ea' to him aain.&
&How many of our clients have the courts found uilty=& Mitch
as'ed.
&2ot a sinle one.&
&0hat about Marty and Joe= 0hat did ha!!en=&
&That&s a ood Euestion. 0e don&t 'now. )t&s true that it was
!ossibly not an accident. The boatman who was with them seems to
have been a dru smuler$ accordin to the !olice there.&
&) don&t thin' we&ll ever 'now$& Mc-niht added. &0e&re tryin to
!rotect their families$ so we&re callin it an accident.&
11 The Firm - John Grisham
&Don&t mention any of this to anyone$& "oc'e said. &2ot even your
wife. )f Tarrance contacts you aain$ let us 'now immediately.
1nderstand=&
&Yes$ sir.& Mitch nodded.
18
The randfatherly warmth returned to 9liver "ambert&s face. He
smiled and said$ &Mitch$ we 'now this is frihtenin$ but we&re used to
it. 0e can loo' after it. "eave it to us$ and don&t worry. %nd stay
away from Tarrance.&
&Further contact with Tarrance will !ut your future in the firm at
ris'$& "oc'e said.
&) understand$& Mitch said.
&That&s all$ Mitch$& "ambert said. &You and "amar can o bac' to
wor' now.&
%s soon as they were out of the room "ambert called De.asher on
the !hone. 0ithin two minutes "ambert and "oc'e were sittin in
De.asher&s office.
&Did you listen=& "oc'e as'ed.
&Yeah$ of course. 0e heard every word the boy said. You handled
it very well. ) thin' he&s frihtened and will run from Tarrance. *ut
)&ve ot to tell "a>arov( he&s the boss. ) ho!e ) can still !ersuade him
not to 'ill Tarrance.&
&God$ yes$& "ambert said. &*ut why did they choose McDeere$ do
you thin'=&
&*ecause he&s youn and because he&s a ood !erson ? the 'ind of
!erson who wouldn&t li'e what&s oin on here. ) suest you 'ee!
McDeere so busy he doesn&t have time to thin'. %nd it would be a
ood idea for :uin to et closer to him$ too$ so that if McDeere does
want to tell anyone anythin he&ll naturally turn to :uin.&
&Did he tell his wife last niht=& as'ed "oc'e.
&0e&re chec'in the ta!es now$& De.asher said. &)t&ll ta'e about an
hour. 0e&ve ot so many bus in this city$ it ta'es si; com!uters to
find anythin. )&ll let you 'now if ) find anythin. *ut he and his wife
don&t tal' that much any more. McDeere had better visit the 3aymans$
thouh. 3an you arrane it=&
&9f course$& said "ambert. &*ut why=&
&)&ll tell you later.&
1A
3ha!ter 8 Four Feo!le$ Three of them Dead
That #unday$ Mitch went to visit his brother /ay in !rison aain.
There was some information he wanted. They chatted for a while and
then Mitch said$ &You once told me in a letter that you 'new a !risoner
who used to be a co! in Mem!his and now wor's there as a !rivate
investiator. ) can&t remember his name.&
&,ddie "oma;. Yeah. 3o!s are hated in here. ) hel!ed him out once
in a fihtD they were 'illin him. 0e became friends. He still writes to
1C The Firm - John Grisham
me. He&s been out about three years now.&
&Than's.&
&0hy do you need him=&
&% lawyer friend&s wife is cheatin on him. )s "oma; ood=&
&Yeah$ ) thin' so. He&s made some money$ anyway. You&ll find him
in the !hone boo'.&
% uard wal'ed by and reminded them that it was nearly time for
visitors to leave.
&)s there anythin ) can send you=& as'ed Mitch. &%ny lanuae
ta!es=& /ay had learned several lanuaes while he was in !rison.
&Yeah$ somethin on Gree'$ !lease. %nd a !icture of %bby and of
your house. You&re the first McDeere in a hundred years to own a
house.&
&9-. )&ll see you ne;t month.&
J
"oma;&s secretary$ Tammy$ was blonde$ about forty years old but still
se;y. #he wore short s'irts and a low-cut blouse. #he 'e!t crossin
and uncrossin her les while Mitch was waitin for "oma; to et off
the !hone.
0hen Mitch eventually ot into the office "oma; stood u! behind
his des' and held out his hand. &#o you&re Mitchell McDeere. )t&s ood
to meet you.&
C7
&My !leasure$& Mitch said. &) saw /ay on #unday.&
&) feel li'e )&ve 'nown you for years. He tal'ed about you all the
time. You loo' @ust li'e him too. 2ow$ what can ) do for you= Have
you ot trouble with your wife=&
&2o$ nothin li'e that. ) need some information about four !eo!le.
Three of them are dead.& Mitch told him about the three dead lawyers
from *endini$ "ambert + "oc'e. &) want to 'now if there&s anythin
odd about their deaths$& he said.
&#ounds interestin. 0hat about the fourth !erson=&
&He&s called 0ayne Tarrance. He&s an F*) aent here in Mem!his.&
&F*)< That&ll cost you more.&
&9-. This must all be absolutely secret$ ,ddie. )&m trustin you.
%nd don&t call me at home or at the office. ) sus!ect )&m bein
watched very closely.&
&*y whom=&
&) wish ) 'new.&
3ha!ter A Grand 3ayman
% wee' later %very Tolleson and Mitch left for the 3ayman )slands
to do some ta; wor' for a client. )t was the first time in his life that
Mitch had left the country.
They landed on Grand 3ayman$ a @ewel of land surrounded by
clear blue sea. Hardly anyone lived on the other two islands$ "ittle
3ayman and 3ayman *rac$ %very told him. %nd on Grand 3ayman
1G The Firm - John Grisham
there were only 18$777 !eo!le$ but 1C$777 businesses had their head
offices there on !a!er$ and there were G77 ban's.
They settled into the firm&s a!artments on #even Mile *each and
%very suested they o to /umheads$ an o!en-air bar on the beach.
%s niht fell$ %very was drin'in heavily and a
C1
!air of sisters @oined them at their table. They were dressed only in
bi'inis. #oon one of them was sittin on %very&s 'nees and the other
one was tryin to !ersuade Mitch to dance with her.
He !ushed her away rouhly and went for a wal' alon the beach.
)n the dar'ness$ all alone on the beach$ with only the stars in the s'y
and the lihts of a few boats far away out on the water$ another
beautiful woman a!!roached him. #he reminded him of %bby. They
lay on the sand and tal'ed. #he Euietly too' off her bi'ini ? not that
there was much of it ? and as'ed Mitch to loo' after it while she
went for a swim. 0hen she came bac'$ risin out of the water and
brushin her lon wet hair off her face and body$ they made love.
&0ho will ever 'now=& Mitch thouht. &)&m not doin anyone any
harm.&
J
)n the mornin neither of them felt li'e doin business. )n the ta;i to
the /oyal *an' of Montreal$ where they had an a!!ointment$ %very
cheerfully e;!lained that he was different from the rest of the !artners
in the firm$ because he li'ed drin'in and women. %fter they had
com!leted their business at the ban' %very went off to meet the
woman he had s!ent the niht with$ leavin Mitch to wander around
the town. They had another a!!ointment at three in the afternoon.
Mitch went to the library and found a news!a!er for C5 June of that
year. He sat down beside a window to read it. He loo'ed out of the
window and saw a man ettin out of a car and crossin the street
towards the library. He reconi>ed the car( he had also seen it near the
ban' in the mornin. Mitch ot u! from the table and !retended to be
loo'in at a business maa>ine in another !art of the room.
The man$ who was small and dar'$ came into the library. )n a
CC
few minutes he a!!eared in the room where Mitch was. He wal'ed
!ast Mitch$ !aused as if to chec' what he was readin$ and left the
room. 0hen Mitch returned to the window he was bac' in the car$
smo'in a ciarette.
Mitch read the news!a!er story about the e;!losion on the boat
which had 'illed two %merican lawyers and their divin uide. He
left the library and$ without loo'in bac'$ wal'ed Euic'ly alon
narrow$ crowded streets$ and in and out of sho!s$ until he was sure no
one could be followin him. Then he cauht a ta;i to %ban's Divin
#chool. The news!a!er had said that the uide who was 'illed was
Fhili! %ban's$ the son of *arry %ban's$ who owned the divin
1B The Firm - John Grisham
school.
%ban's areed to s!ea' to Mitch. He was certain Fhili! had
nothin to do with drus. The accident had sur!rised him because the
boat was found a lon way from where it was su!!osed to be$ but
Fhili! hadn&t used the radio to tell the school about their new !osition$
as an e;!erienced boatman li'e himself would. He also hadn&t radioed
about any enine trouble. The boat&s enine e;!loded$ but the three
bodies were found unharmed$ in full divin clothesD they had @ust
drowned$ althouh all three were e;!erienced divers.
J
% few days later$ in Mem!his$ De.asher studied the !hotora!hs on
the des' in front of him. They were of a very hih Euality. The londistance
niht-siht camera had wor'ed well. %nd the irl was
e;cellent. He would use her aain. &Mitchell McDeere$& he said to
himself with a smile$ &now you are ours. 2ow you&ll do anythin for
us.&
CG
3ha!ter 17 Danerous 0aters
Two wee's before 3hristmas$ Mitch and ,ddie "oma; met on a
bride in a !ar' in the free>in rain. They had both made sure that
they were not followed. "oma;&s news was very interestin. %ll three
of the dead lawyers had died in mysterious circumstances. The lorry
which 'illed %lice -nauss had been stolen in #t "ouis three days
earlier. The driver drove straiht into her car and then ran away. He
was never found. The hunter$ /obert "amm$ was almost certainly
murdered. )t didn&t loo' li'e a huntin accident$ because his body was
found in a !art of the forest where there were few animals and the
hunters didn&t usually o. There were two strane thins about
Mic'el&s death( first$ the letter to his wife was ty!ed$ not handwrittenD
second$ he had never bouht a un in his life$ and yet the un that
'illed him was an old un$ which the !olice thouht criminals had
used in the !ast. 0here did a res!ectable lawyer et such a un=
&Your firm has lost five lawyers in fifteen years$& "oma; ended.
&%nd you&re actin as if you&re oin to be the ne;t. )&d say you&ve ot
!roblems.&
&0hat about Tarrance=&
&) don&t have very much. He&s one of their best menD he came down
here from 2ew Yor' about two years ao.&
&Than's.&
&)&ll do anythin ) can to hel! /ay McDeere&s little brother. )t seems
to me that you&re swimmin in danerous waters.&
Mitch nodded slihtly$ but said nothin.
J
Mitch sat in the corner of Faulette&s$ a French restaurant in the middle
of Mem!his. %t seven o&cloc' %bby rushed in from the cold and
@oined him at his table.
1I The Firm - John Grisham
&0hat&s the s!ecial event=& she as'ed. Mitch had said hardly
CB
anythin on the !hone when he invited her to meet him here. He was
very careful about what he said on the !hone these days.
&Do ) need a reason to have dinner with my wife=&
&Yes. )t&s seven o&cloc' on a Monday niht and you&re not at the
office. That&s very unusual.&
% waiter came to their table and they ordered two white wines. %s
the waiter went away Mitch noticed the face of a man at another table
that loo'ed familiar. *efore Mitch could thin' about it the man hid
his face behind a menu.
&0hat&s the matter$ Mitch=&
He !ut his hand on hers and said$ &%bby$ we&ve ot to tal'.&
&0hat about=& she as'ed$ worried.
&%bout somethin very serious$& he said Euietly. &*ut we can&t tal'
here. There&s a bac' door near the washrooms. ) want you to o to the
washroom and then leave by the bac' door. )&ll meet you there. )&ll
brin your coat. Trust me$ !lease.&
%bby left. Mitch waited until the man with the menu was busy
tal'in to a waiter and then he followed her. 9utside they wal'ed to a
bar and sat down in a dar' corner inside.
&0hat&s this all about=& demanded %bby$ when they had their
drin's.
&) met an F*) aent today$ a man called Tarrance. )t&s the second
time he&s s!o'en to me.&
&F*)=&
&Yes. 0ith bades and everythin.& He told her about the first
meetin with Tarrance and what the !artners had said about it.
&0hat do the F*) want=&
&) don&t 'now$ %bby. )&m @ust eatin lunch when someone comes u!
and tells me that my !hones are bued$ my home is bued$ and
someone at *endini$ "ambert + "oc'e 'nows
CI
everythin ) do. ) don&t 'now what they want$ %bby$ but they&ve
chosen me for some reason.&
&Did you tell anyone at the office=&
&2o$ ) haven&t told anyone e;ce!t you. %nd ) don&t intend to tell
anyone either.&
%bby dran' from her lass of wine. &9ur !hones are bued=&
&%ccordin to the F*).*ut how do they 'now=&
&They&re not stu!id$ Mitch. )f the F*) told me my !hones were
bued )&d believe them.&
&) don&t 'now who to believe. "oc'e and "ambert were very
believable when they e;!lained how the firm fihts with the ta;
!eo!le and the F*). *ut if the firm did have a rich client whom the
F*) was investiatin$ why would they choose me$ the new man in
16 The Firm - John Grisham
the firm$ to tal' to= 0hat do ) 'now= )&ve seen no sins of any
criminal acts. %ll the files ) wor' on are clean.&
&*ut someone is buin you.&
&,ven the car$ Tarrance said.&
&Mitch$ this is ama>in. 0hy would a law firm do that=&
&)&ve no idea. ) feel much better now that )&ve told you. From now
on )&ll tell you everythin. ) didn&t tell you sooner because ) 'e!t
ho!in it would all o away. %nd there&s more to tell you.& He told her
about ,ddie "oma; and the five dead lawyers$ and how he sus!ected
that none of their deaths was Euite what it seemed to be.
&) feel wea'.&
&%bby$ we have to be careful. 0e must continue to live as if we
sus!ect nothin.&
&This is unreal$ Mitch. ) can&t believe )&m sittin here listenin to
you sayin all this. Do you e;!ect me to live in a house where
everythin&s bued=&
&Do you have a better idea=&
&Yeah. "et&s hire this ,ddie "oma; to ins!ect our house.&
C6
&This is unreal$ Mitch. Do you e;!ect me to live in a
house where everythin&s bued=&
&)&ve thouht of that. *ut what if he finds somethin= Thin' about
it. 0hat if we 'now for sure that the house is bued= 0hat then=
0hat if he brea's one of the bus= Then whoever !ut them there will
'now that we 'now$ and that could be danerous.&
&You&re riht. %nyway$ you&re hardly home for me to tal' to.
They&ll only hear me tal'in to myself a lot these days.&
3ha!ter 11 % Frofessional Job
% day or two after 3hristmas$ ,ddie "oma; was called out on an
urent @ob. % man callin himself %l -ilbury said that his wife was
about to meet a man in a hotel in south Mem!his and that he needed
"oma; to ta'e !hotora!hs. He tem!ted him with an offer of
enerous !ayment. They drove to the hotel toether and waited in the
car !ar'. %nother man silently o!ened the bac' door of the car and
!ut three bullets into the bac' of "oma;&s head. )t was a !rofessional
@ob. The 'iller and the man callin himself %l -ilbury left toether.
J
Mitch found the bar near the air!ort where Tammy had as'ed him to
meet her. He loo'ed aain at the letter she had !inned to the bac'
door of his house( &Dear Mr McDeere$ Flease meet me at ,rnie&s *ar
on 0inchester %venue late toniht. )t&s about ,ddie "oma;. .ery
im!ortant. Tammy Hem!hill$ his secretary.&
Tammy arrived soon after he had ordered a beer. &Than's for
comin$& she said.
&0hat&s the matter=&
#he loo'ed round. &0e need to tal'$ but not here.&
15 The Firm - John Grisham
&0here do you suest=&
&0hy don&t we drive around= 0e&ll ta'e my car.&
C8
)n the car she too' a lon time to say what she wanted to say.
,ventually it started to come out.
&You heard about ,ddie=& she as'ed.
&Yes.&
&0hen did you last meet him=&
&% cou!le of wee's before 3hristmas.&
&) thouht so. He didn&t 'ee! any file about the wor' he was doin
for you.& There was a !ause. &,ddie and ) were ... we were lovers. My
marriae isn&t so reat$ and my husband has other women friends.
%nyway$ ,ddie told me a little about you and he said that lawyers
from your firm 'e!t dyin.&
#o much for secrecy$ Mitch thouht.
&%nyway$ @ust before 3hristmas he told me he thouht he was
bein followed and that he thouht it was connected to the wor' he
was doin for you. ,ddie was ood at his @ob. )t wouldn&t be easy to
follow him. They were !rofessionals$ whoever they were ? as
!rofessional as the 'iller. )&m frihtened$ Mitch. 3an ) call you
Mitch=&
&9f course.&
&) haven&t been bac' to the office since his death. They !robably
thin' ) 'now whatever it is that he 'new.&
&You&re riht not to ta'e any chances$& Mitch said.
&0e can disa!!ear for a while$ my husband and ). He wor's as a
siner in nihtclubs and he can always et wor' somewhere else.&
&That sounds li'e a ood idea. 0here will you o=&
&Here and there$& she said. &They&ve 'illed all those lawyers$ and
they&ve 'illed ,ddie$ and ne;t they want you and me.&
&0e need to 'ee! in touch$ Tammy$& Mitch said$ &but you can&t tal'
to me on the !hone and we shouldn&t meet. 0rite to me once a wee'
from wherever you are. 0hat&s your mother&s name=&
&Doris.&
CA
&Fine. #in your letters Doris.&
&Do they read your mail$ too=&
&Frobably$ Doris$ !robably.&
3ha!ter 1C Denton .oyles
Mitch flew into 0ashinton on the firm&s !rivate @et. De.asher didn&t
want him to o. 3hicao had iven orders that McDeere was not to
leave Mem!his on firm business e;ce!t with at least two !artners.
*ut the firm had arraned months ao for Mitch to o to this
conference on ta;es in 0ashinton. De.asher couldn&t arue aainst
it$ because as far as he 'new Tarrance had only met Mitch that one
time$ and Mitch had immediately re!orted it. #o Mitch seemed to be
18 The Firm - John Grisham
a loyal member of the firm.
His first mornin at the conference$ surrounded by straners$ a
man whis!ered$ &Harbison$ F*)$& and !assed him a note. The
note read(
Dear Mr McDeere
) would li'e to s!ea' to you for a few minutes durin lunch. Flease
follow Grant Harbison&s instructions. Than' you for your co-o!eration.
F.Denton .oyles
.oyles was the almost leendary boss of the F*). Harbison arraned
a meetin in the men&s room. He went first and Mitch followed after
twenty minutes.
&0hat does .oyles want=& he as'ed.
&#omethin im!ortant. )t&s not my @ob to tell you$& said Harbison.
&0hen the conference brea's for lunch you&ll find a ta;i$ number
8665$ outside the hotel. )t will ta'e you to the meetin. *e careful(
two of the boys from Mem!his followed you here. They&re in the
bedroom ne;t to you in the hotel.&
G7
J
Mitch followed his instructions. The driver of the ta;i s!o'e to others
constantly on his radio. 0hen he was certain that no one was
followin them he sto!!ed actin li'e a tour uide and too' Mitch
directly to his meetin with .oyles in another hotel. Tarrance was
waitin in the hotel room.
%fter a few minutes .oyles wal'ed in with another aent. .oyles
offered his hand and Mitch stood u! to sha'e it.
&Than' you for comin$& .oyles said. &This is very im!ortant
to us.&
Mitch breathed dee!ly. &#ir$ do you have any idea how confused
and frihtened ) am= ) really need an e;!lanation. 0hat&s ha!!enin=&
&Mitch$ what )&m about to tell you will certainly shoc' you. You
won&t want to believe it. *ut it&s all true$ and with your hel! we can
save your life.&
Mitch waited.
&2o lawyer has ever left your firm alive$& .oyles went on. &Three
have tried$ and they were 'illed. Two others were about to leave$ and
they died last summer. 0hen a lawyer @oins *endini$ "ambert +
"oc'e$ he never leaves$ unless he retires and 'ee!s his mouth shut.
%nd by the time they retire they are !art of it all and cannot tal'. The
firm has a ma@or surveillance o!eration on the fifth floor. Your house$
car and !hones are bued. Your des' and office are bued. %lmost
every word you s!ea' is heard and recorded on the fifth floor. They
follow you$ and sometimes your wife. You see$ Mitch$ the firm is not
what it seems. )t is not owned by the !artners. )t is !art of a very lare
and very illeal business. The firm of *endini$ "ambert + "oc'e is
owned by the Morolto crime family in 3hicao. The Mafia.&
1A The Firm - John Grisham
&) don&t believe it$& Mitch said$ fro>en with fear. His voice was
wea'.
G1
.oyles smiled. &Yes$ you do$ Mitch. You&ve sus!ected somethin
for some time. That&s why you tal'ed to %ban's in the 3aymans.
That&s why you hired that investiator and ot him 'illed by those
boys on the fifth floor. You 'now the firm is rotten$ Mitch.&
Mitch rested his head in his hands and stared at the floor.
&%s far as we can see$& .oyles said$ &about a Euarter of the firm&s
clients and businesses are leal. There are some very ood lawyers in
the firm$ doin ta; wor' for rich clients. )t&s a very ood cover. Most
of the files you&ve wor'ed on so far are 9-. That&s how they o!erate.
They brin in a new man$ throw money at him$ buy the car and house$
ta'e him to the 3aymans and !ut him to wor' on their leal clients.
Then after five or si; years$ when the money is really ood$ when you
and your family have become com!letely used to this rich way of
livin$ they tell the truth. *y then you can&t et out even if you want
to. They&ll 'ill your wife$ or one of your childrenD they don&t care. #o
you stay. You can&t leave. )f you stay$ you ma'e a million dollars and
retire youn with your family safe. )f you try to leave$ your !icture
will han in the first-floor library.&
&You mean that every !artner . . .=& Mitch couldn&t finish.
&Yes$ they all 'now and they all do what they&re told. 0e sus!ect
that most of the associates 'now as well. 0e don&t thin' the wives do.
0e really want these !eo!le. 0e could destroy the Morolto family.
0e could arrest hundreds of them.&
&How do they hel! the Moroltos=& Mitch as'ed.
&To be honest$& .oyles said$ &we don&t 'now everythin. 0e&ve only
been watchin them for about seven years$ and very little information
ets out. *ut here&s an e;am!le. % !artner ta'es several million
dollars in KdirtyK money to the 3aymans on the firm&s !rivate @et.&
Mitch thouht of all the @ourneys the !artners 'e!t ma'in to the
3aymans. .oyles continued his story.
GC
&Then the same !artner$ or one of the others$ forms a leal
com!any bac' in the #tates$ to buy some land !erha!s. The money
is wired throuh from the 3aymans to . . . what&s the name of that
ban' in #t "ouis with whom the firm does a lot of business=&
&3ommercial Guaranty=&
&That&s the one. The Mafia own it. #o the money arrives bac' in the
#tates and is used leally. #uddenly$ KdirtyK money is KcleanK. That&s
why *endini was sent down there in 1ABB. "oc'e rew u! wor'in
for the Moroltos. He&s a criminal first and a lawyer second. "ambert
is the !erfect cover for the firm. He loo's and sounds li'e everyone&s
idea of a lawyer. *ut the ne;t time you see him in the office$ Mitch$
remember that he&s a 'iller.&
C7 The Firm - John Grisham
&0hat about the secretaries and su!!ort staff=&
&Good Euestion. 0e thin' some of them are !art of it too. *ut some
of them don&t 'now anythin. That&s how they o!erate as two firms at
once( a lot of the !eo!le there really are doin leal business. *ut
Hode told Tarrance that there&s a rou! of su!!ort staff who wor'
only for the main !artners of the firm. They !robably do all their leal
wor'$ so that the !artners are free to do the Moroltos& dirty business.&
&)f you 'now so much$ why don&t you @ust o in there and arrest
them all=& as'ed Mitch.
&0e need evidence$& .oyles said. &That&s where you come in. 0e
want you to !hotoco!y files$ ban' records$ all those documents which
we can&t reach from the outside but you can. 0e need the names of all
the staffD we need to 'now who wor's on which filesD we need all the
information you can ive us$ about every !art of *endini$ "ambert +
"oc'e. %nd then eventually we&ll want you to a!!ear in court and be a
witness ? our most im!ortant witness. You must decide whether or
not you&ll co-o!erate$ Mitch. Tell us soon. )f you decide not to hel!
us$
GG
we&ll find someone else who will$ sooner or later$ and we&ll !ut you in
!rison alon with the rest of them. )f you choose to hel! us$ we can
neotiate a !rice. %nd then we&ll loo' after you$ send you and your
wife anywhere in the world you want to o.&
&*ut the Mafia never forets$& Mitch said. &)&ve heard stories of
witnesses hidden by the F*) whose car suddenly e;!lodes. You
!eo!le are ca!able of mista'esD one day$ in ten years& time$ one of you
will tal' to the wron !erson. )f ) hel! you )&ll always live in fear. )&ll
never be able to !ractise law aainD %bby and ) will have to chane
our faces and become Mr and Mrs 9rdinary in 2owheretown.&
&)t&s true$ Mitch$& .oyles said. &They never foret. *ut ) !romise
you$ we will loo' after you and your wife. 0e have about two
thousand witnesses livin all over the country under new names$ with
new homes and new @obs. 2ow you had better et bac' to your hotel.
Tarrance will ma'e contact with you soon.&
3ha!ter 1G #ho!!in for #hoes
%bby met him at the air!ort and in the bar he told her everythin that
had ha!!ened. #he was frihtened and close to tears$ but neither of
them could see any way out. They couldn&t @ust run away and they
couldn&t do nothin. ,ven while they were tal'in Mitch saw a tall$
fair-haired man with a moustache at the bar whom he remembered
from the hotel in 0ashinton. They were followin him all the time.
Tarrance didn&t wait lon. % wee' after Mitch returned to
Mem!his$ about the same time that &Doris& ot in contact$ Tarrance
met him as he was wal'in bac' from a meetin and suested they
turn into a shoe sho! toether$ to et off the street. He started to say
that it was time for Mitch to decide what to do$ but he suddenly
C1 The Firm - John Grisham
sto!!ed.
GB
Tarrance started to say that it was time for Mitch to
decide what to do$ but he suddenly sto!!ed.
&0hat is it=& Mitch demanded.
&) @ust saw someone wal' by the sho! and loo' in at us. "isten
carefully$ Mitch. 0e&ll wal' out toether$ and as soon as we&re
outside$ you !ush me away and shout at me. Then run in the direction
of the office.&
Mitch did e;actly as Tarrance suested. %s soon as he ot bac' to
the *endini *uildin he went to %very Tolleson&s office and re!orted
that the same F*) aent had contacted him aain. *y the time they ot
to "oc'e&s office$ "ambert and Mc-niht were there as well.
He !retended to be frihtened and u!set$ and demanded to 'now
why the F*) had now contacted him twice. "ambert told him the same
story as before. Mitch hardly heard himD he watched his li!s movin
and thouht of -o>ins'i and Hode and their families. Then "oc'e
as'ed him what had ha!!ened today.
&Tarrance !ushed me into the shoe sho!. ) tried to run away$ but
Tarrance followed me and rabbed me. ) !ushed him away and ran
bac' here. That&s all that ha!!ened. 0hat shall ) do=&
&2othin$ Mitch$& said "ambert. &Just stay away from this Tarrance.
)f he even loo's at you$ re!ort it to us immediately.&
&That&s what he did$& said %very.
Mitch tried to loo' as !itiful as !ossible.
&You can o$ Mitch$& "ambert said.
J
&He&s lyin. )&m sure he&s lyin$& De.asher said. They were all in
De.asher&s office.
&0hat did your man see=& as'ed "oc'e.
&#omethin slihtly different$ but at the same time very different$
you 'now= He says McDeere and Tarrance wal'ed toether into the
shoe sho!. He didn&t see Tarrance rab
G6
McDeere. They&re in the sho! for a cou!le of minutes. 9ur man wal's
by and loo's inside. 2e;t minute they&re fihtin on the street.
#omethin isn&t riht$ ) tell you.&
The !artners thouht for a while. Finally$ 9liver "ambert said$
&"oo'$ De.asher$ it&s !ossible that McDeere is tellin the truth and
that your man ot the wron sinals. You don&t 'now of any contact
since last %uust.&
&2o$ but we can&t watch anybody absolutely all the time. 0e didn&t
'now about those other two until it was almost too late.&
&*ut because you don&t 'now of any recent contact$ you shouldn&t
doubt what McDeere&s sayin.&
&)&m not sure$& said De.asher. &) thin' McDeere and ) should have a
CC The Firm - John Grisham
little tal'.&
&%bout what=& "ambert as'ed nervously.
&Just leave it to me. )f you fools were in chare of security we&d all
be in !rison by now. "a>arov is ettin really worried$ but he thin's
he can et someone in the F*) to tal'. Then we&ll 'now whether
McDeere is lyin.&
J
Mitch was alone in his office late that niht when a short$ fat man
wal'ed in. &My name&s De.asher$& he said.
&0hat can ) do for you=& Mitch as'ed.
&You can listen for a while. )&m in chare of security for the firm . .
.&
&0hy does the firm need security=& Mitch as'ed.
&*endini was cra>y about security. %nyway$ we believe the F*) are
tryin to et a man inside the firm to hel! in their investiations of
some of our clients. )t&s im!ortant that you tell us whenever they
attem!t to ma'e contact with you.&
&Yes$ ) already 'now that.&
#uddenly De.asher was smilin evilly. &) brouht somethin with
me to show you$& he said. &#omethin that will 'ee!
G5
you honest.& He reached inside his @ac'et and !ulled out an envelo!e.
Mitch o!ened it nervously. )nside were four !hotora!hs$ blac'
and white$ very clear. 9n the beach. The irl.
&9h$ my God< 0ho too' these=& Mitch shouted at him.
&0hat difference does that ma'e=&
Mitch tore the !hotora!hs u! and let the !ieces fall on to his des'.
&0e&ve ot !lenty more u!stairs$& De.asher said calmly. &0e don&t
want to use them$ but if we catch you tal'in to Mr Tarrance or some
other F*) aent$ we&ll send them to your wife. How would you li'e
that$ Mitch= The ne;t time you and Tarrance decide to sho! for shoes$
thin' about us$ Mitch. *ecause we&ll be watchin.&
3ha!ter 1B Two *lac' *riefcases
&#o you want to rent a small office=& the aent said as they rode u! in
the lift. He was admirin the tiht @eans on the blonde.
#he smiled and nodded.
The lift sto!!ed and they ot out. He showed her the small tworoom
office. #he li'ed it. They neotiated a !rice ? a ood !rice for
even a small office on the ninth floor of the famous 3otton #hi!!in
*uildin. #he sined the forms &Doris Greenwood&.
*y noon the ne;t day the furniture was in !lace. There was a 'noc'
at the door. &0ho is it=& she as'ed.
&)t&s your !hotoco!ier$& a voice answered.
#he unloc'ed the door and o!ened it. Two men wheeled in a bi
machine and she !ointed them towards the s!are second room.
&)t&s a bi co!ier for such a small office$& one of them
CG The Firm - John Grisham
G8
remar'ed. &This is the most modern machine we&ve ot. )t does ninety
co!ies a minute.&
#he smiled and said it would do fine and sined the documents.
%fter they had one she loc'ed the door behind them and wal'ed to
the window. #he loo'ed north$ alon Front #treet. % Euarter of a mile
away$ on the o!!osite side$ the Gendini *uildin was visible.
J
9n a Tuesday mornin Mitch&s secretary chec'ed that he had
everythin for his meetin with Fran' Mulholland in fifteen minutes.
Mitch$ sittin at his des'$ !ointed at a lare blac' briefcase. He
finished sinin the letters on the des' in front of him$ !ic'ed u! the
briefcase and a thin document case and left the buildin. He chec'ed
that the briefcase was in his riht hand and the document case in his
left. That was the sinal.
9n the ninth floor of the 3otton #hi!!in *uildin$ Tammy moved
away from the window$ !ut on her coat and left the office.
Mitch entered the buildin and went straiht to the lifts.
Mulholland&s office was on the seventh floor. Mitch !ushed the
button. He was not alone in the lift$ but he didn&t thin' they had
followed him here. He !ut the briefcase down on the floor by his foot.
Tammy ot into the lift on the fourth floor. #he had brouht with
her e;actly the same 'ind of briefcase that Mitch had. #he didn&t loo'
at Mitch but stood ne;t to him and !ut her briefcase down on the
floor ne;t to his. 9n the seventh floor Mitch !ic'ed u! her briefcase
and left the liftD on the ninth floor Tammy !ic'ed u! his briefcase and
went to her office.
The briefcase was full of files from *endini$ "ambert + "oc'e.
Tammy loc'ed the door behind her. There were seven thic' files. #he
laid them on the table ne;t to the co!ier. #he too' the
GA
!a!ers out of the first file and !ut them into the co!ier. #he !ushed
the &Frint& button and watched the machine ma'e two !erfect co!ies of
every !ae.
Mitch&s meetin with Mulholland went well. They shoo' hands at
the end and arraned another meetin ne;t wee'.
The lift sto!!ed on the fifth floor and Tammy wal'ed in. )t was
em!ty e;ce!t for Mitch. 0hen the door closed he said$ &%ny
!roblems=&
&2o. Two co!ies are loc'ed away.&
&How lon did it ta'e=&
&Thirty minutes.&
The lift sto!!ed on the fourth floor and she !ic'ed u! the em!ty
briefcase. &Midday tomorrow=& she as'ed.
&Yes$& he re!lied. The door o!ened and she disa!!eared on to the
fourth floor. He rode alone down to the round floor and wal'ed$ with
CB The Firm - John Grisham
a briefcase in each hand$ loo'in @ust as a lawyer should$ bac' to his
office.
3ha!ter 1I #ecret Tal's
% wee' later Mitch was havin lunch with the !artners in their fifthfloor
dinin-room. ,ach year every associate member was invited
twice. Throuhout lunch Mitch 'new that he was bein watched very
closely. They were loo'in for any sins that he was a less 'een
member of the firm than he used to be. #o he forced himself to smile
and to eat the food they offered him. )t was im!ossible for him to
foret the !ictures of him and the irl in the sand. Had they all seen
the !ictures= Had they !assed them around this table=
9liver "ambert had never been so charmin. He told stories about
!ast members of the firm$ conratulated Mitch on the hours he was
wor'in and the amount of money he was earnin
B7
the firm$ and said he deserved the holiday he was ta'in ne;t wee'.
&You and your wife are off to the 3aymans$ ) hear$& /oyce
Mc-niht said. &You&ll love it there.&
&Do you dive=& as'ed "ambert.
&2o$ but we !lan to do !lenty of swimmin$& Mitch said.
&)f you want to learn to dive$& "ambert went on$ &there&s a man
called %drian *ench who has an e;cellent divin school on the north
end of the island. )t&s worth a visit.&
)n other words$ stay away from %ban's$ Mitch thouht. &Than's.
)&ll remember that$& he said.
&*ut be careful$ Mitch$& "ambert said. &)t brins bac' memories of
Marty and Joe.&
The !artners loo'ed down sadly at their !lates. Mitch felt sic'.
They had 'illed Marty and Joe for doin e;actly what he was doin.
He wanted two million from the F*). There were a cou!le of other
thins he wanted too.
J
%t the same time that Mitch was havin lunch with the !artners$
Tammy Greenwood Hem!hill !ar'ed her dirty brown .ol'swaen
behind the shiny Feueot in the school car !ar'. #he left the enine
runnin. #he ot out of the car$ !ulled a 'ey from her !oc'et$ o!ened
the bac' of the Feueot and too' the heavy blac' briefcase out. Then
she drove away in her own car.
%t a small window in the teachers& loune %bby dran' coffee and
stared throuh the trees into the car !ar'. #he smiled and chec'ed her
watch. Twelve-thirty$ as !lanned.
Tammy drove bac' to her office. 2o one followed herD no one
'new of her e;istence. There were nine files this time. He had said
there would eventually be about forty. #he co!ied them all. 9n the
way bac' to the school she too' all the co!ied files to the small
storae room she had rented in her name.
CI The Firm - John Grisham
B1
J
%t three o&cloc' in the mornin Mitch ot Euietly out of bed and ot
dressed. 0ithout a word he 'issed %bby$ who was awa'e$ and left the
house. He had a meetin at an all-niht cafe twenty-five miles out of
town. %t this time of niht no one would follow him.
Tarrance and he com!leted their neotiations. They areed on two
million dollars.
&) want a million now and a million later$& Mitch said. &)&m already
co!yin all my files. 2o lawyer is allowed to do that( as soon as )
ive them to you$ it&s the end of my career. #o when ) ive them to
you ) want the first million. 0e&ll discuss the details later.&
&How are you oin to et the files to us=& Tarrance as'ed. &You
can&t @ust wal' around with them.&
&That&s riht$& Mitch said. &0hen ) hear that the first million has
one where ) want it to o$ then )&ll ive you the 'ey to a storae
room somewhere in the Mem!his area.&
&%nd the second million=& Tarrance as'ed.
&0hen you and ) and .oyles decide that )&ve iven you enouh
documents to ma'e the arrests you want$ then ) et half. %fter )
a!!ear in court as a witness for the last time$ ) et the other half.&
&%reed$& Tarrance said.
&%nd there&s one other thin ) want$ Tarrance.&
&Yeah=&
&) want my brother /ay out of *rushy Mountain Frison.&
&That&s ridiculous$ Mitch. 0e can&t do that.&
&You can find a way. )f you can&t do it by bendin the rules$ then
you can hel! him esca!e. *ut you can do it. The F*) can do anythin$
remember=&
&)&ll see what ) can do$& Tarrance said hel!lessly. &*ut .oyles isn&t
oin to li'e it.&
BC
&Tell him that he doesn&t et to see anythin ? not a sinle file ?
unless he !romises to et my brother out. 2ot even a file on one of
my clean clients. ) don&t 'now why you want those files anyway.&
&*ecause when we&ve ot them$& Tarrance said$ &we&ve ot you.
%ctually$ you&re !robably already wor'in with criminal clients
without 'nowin it. )t ma'es it easier for the firm to !ersuade you
later to do whatever they say$ because they&ll tell you that you&ve
already done enouh to o to !rison.&
3ha!ter 16 2o -iss
%t eiht o&cloc' on the mornin after Mitch and %bby returned from
the 3aymans$ 9liver "ambert and 2athan "oc'e were allowed
throuh the metal door on the fifth floor. They went to De.asher&s
office.
&) tal'ed to "a>arov yesterday in "as .eas. He&s still worried. He
C6 The Firm - John Grisham
wants you to ma'e sure that any associates who don&t 'now about our
real business here wor' only on clean files.&
&9-. 0hat about McDeere=& "ambert as'ed.
&He had a wonderful wee' with his wife. They stayed in the other
house$ of course. You should see her in a strin bi'ini< 0e too'
some !ictures$ @ust for fun.&
&) didn&t come here to loo' at !ictures$& "oc'e said anrily.
&%ll riht$ all riht. They s!ent a whole day with our friend %ban's.
0e don&t 'now what they tal'ed about. 0henever we ot someone
close to them$ they were only tal'in about fishin or somethin. *ut
) don&t li'e it at all.&
&0hat can they tal' about=& said "ambert. &9f course they&ll tal' about
Hode and -o>ins'i$ but there&s no harm in that. They can&t find
anythin out$ can they=.&
&2o$& De.asher admitted$ &but ) still don&t li'e it. ) 'now
BG
McDeere tells lies. ) 'now he lied about that shoe sho!. %nd 3hicao
is worried$ so )&m worried. That&s my @ob. %s lon as the F*) are
around$ )&ll be worried.&
J
)t was very unusual for wives to a!!ear at the *endini *uildin %bby
arrived there une;!ectedly. The rece!tionist !honed u! to Mitch&s
office and his secretary came down to e;!lain that Mitch was in a
meetin.
&He&s always in a meetin$& %bby re!lied. &Get him out of it<&
#he waited in Mitch&s office. He was on the third floor$ in %very&s
office$ hel!in him !re!are for another visit to the 3aymans. Frobably
ta'in cash for the Moroltos$ Mitch thouht. His secretary found him
there and told him about %bby.
He wal'ed down to his office$ where %bby was wal'in u! and
down.
&Mitch$ ) have to o and see my !arents$& she said. &My father @ust
called me at school. My mother&s ill. #he&s ot to have an o!eration
tomorrow.&
&)&m sorry$& Mitch said. He didn&t touch her. #he wasn&t cryin.
&)&ve told the school )&ll be away for a while$& she said.
&How lon=&
&) don&t 'now. Mitch$ we need some time away from each other. )
thin' it will be ood for both of us.&
&"et&s tal' about it.&
&You&re always too busy to tal'. )&ve been tryin to tal' to you for
si; months$ but you can&t hear me. )&ll be bac'$ ) !romise. ) @ust don&t
'now when. ) love you$ Mitch.&
He watched her o!en the door. There was no 'iss.
J
9n the fifth floor an enineer !ushed the emerency button for
C5 The Firm - John Grisham
BB
.asher&s office. He came immediately and !ut head!hones
on. He listened.
&0hen did this ha!!en=& KTwo minutes ao. )n his office$ second
floor.& &#he&s leavin him$ isn&t she= Hell< #he&s our best lever. 0hat
ood are those !hotora!hs if she&s leavin him anyway=&
J
%bby started for -entuc'y but didn&t arrive there. #he made sure that
she wasn&t bein followed and then went to 2ashville %ir!ort. From
there she flew to the 3aymans.
%very finished his business at the /oyal *an' of Montreal and$ after
chanin his clothes$ made his way to /umheads *ar. Just after he
arrived Tammy nervously entered the crowd and sat at the bar. #he
was wearin a bi'ini which hardly covered her body. #he was forty$
but twenty !airs of hunry eyes followed her to the bar$ where she
ordered a soft drin' and lit a ciarette.
#he went over to %very&s table and as'ed if she could sit down. He
couldn&t believe his luc'D of all the men in the bar she had !ic'ed him.
&)&m %very Tolleson. From Mem!his.&
&2ice to meet you. )&m "ibby.&
&0hat brins you here=& %very as'ed.
&Just loo'in for fun$& she said$ with a suestive loo' in her eyes.
For three hours they dined$ dran' and danced$ each time a little
more closely. #he ot him drun'. %t ten o&cloc' she led him from the
bar to the firm&s beach house where he was stayin. He attac'ed her at
the front door and they 'issed lon and dee!ly.
0hen they were inside she suested that they should have
BI
#he too' a small !lastic !ac'et from her ba and dro!!ed some
slee!in-!owder into his drin'.
one more drin'. He left the room to o to the washroom. #he too' a
small !lastic !ac'et from her ba and dro!!ed some slee!in-!owder
into his drin'. Mitch had told her it was enouh to !ut him to slee!
for ten hours. 0hen he returned$ she watched closely as he
swallowed his drin'. He was too drun' to taste a thin. 0ithin
minutes he was in a dee! slee!.
#he !ushed him off the chair and !ulled him into the bedroom. #he
laid him on the bed and too' his clothes off. #he 'issed him
oodniht.
)n his @ac'et !oc'et she found two 'ey-rins$ with eleven 'eys on
them. Downstairs$ in the hall between the 'itchen and the sittinroom$
she found the mysterious metal door which Mitch had noticed
when he stayed in this house with %very last year. From the
arranement of the u!stairs rooms Mitch uessed that there was a
small room behind the door.
#he o!ened the door$ waited a full ten minutes for any alarm and
C8 The Firm - John Grisham
then turned on the liht. )nside the room were twelve cu!boards for
files$ a des' and three lare briefcases.
#he chec'ed that %very was still dee!ly aslee!. Then she went
bac' downstairs$ rabbed the three briefcases$ turned off the lihts
and left throuh the front door. )t was a short wal' across the car !ar'
to where the neihbourin hotel started. #he was sweatin from the
weiht of the briefcases by the time she reached /oom 188 and
'noc'ed on the door.
%bby o!ened the door. &%ny !roblems=& she as'ed.
&2o.& Tammy !ut the briefcases on the bed and went to et a 3o'e.
&0here is he=&
&)n bed. ) thin' we&ve ot until si; in the mornin. There are a hell
of a lot of files in that room. 0e&ll be luc'y to finish by si;.&
/oom 188 was a sinle hotel room. %ll the furniture had been
!ushed aainst the walls to ma'e room for the !hotoco!ier %bby had
rented.
B5
Tammy bean to !hotoco!y the files from the briefcases while
%bby went out in her car and had the 'eys co!ied by a man she had
found earlier. 0hen she came bac' she continued with the
!hotoco!yin$ while Tammy went bac' to the beach house. #he filled
two suitcases with files from the cu!boards. *y the time she ot bac'
to the hotel %bby had finished with the briefcases$ and Tammy too'
them bac'. Her arms soon ached from carryin the suitcases full of
files from one !lace to the other.
They manaed to co!y the files from ten of the cu!boards before
%very showed any sins of beinnin to wa'e u!. #he left the files
they were co!yin with %bby$ went bac' to the beach house$ loc'ed
the metal door and returned the 'eys. Then she too' off her bi'ini to!$
ot into bed beside him and waited.
J
%very finally wo'e u! a few minutes after nine. He felt terrible. He
was late for an a!!ointment.
&Hello$ bi boy$& Tammy said. &You were wonderful.&
%very tried to remember somethin about last niht. He failed.
&0as )=& he said.
&Yeah$ the best$& she said. He bean to believe her.
&"isten$& he said. &) have to ta'e a shower and then o to wor'. #hall
we meet toniht at the bar=&
&)&ll be there$ lover$& she said.
He went off to the shower. #he slid across the bed to the !hone and
called %bby.
&He&s in the shower.&
&%re you 9-=&
&Yeah. He couldn&t do it if he had to.&
&Does he sus!ect anythin=&
CA The Firm - John Grisham
&) don&t thin' so. He&s in !ain.&
B8
&How lon will you be=& &%bout ten
or fifteen minutes.& &9-. Hurry.&
They !ut their !hones down. 1nder the roof$ a recorder witched
itself off and was ready for the ne;t !hone call.
3ha!ter 15 Tarry /oss
0hile %very was at wor' the two women finished the last two
cu!boards of files. They had a mountain of !hotoco!ied !ieces of
!a!er. *y two-thirty in the afternoon it was all in bo;es in a storae
room in Georetown. 9ver the ne;t few days Tammy flew in and out
of the 3aymans and carried the !a!ers to a one-room a!artment in
*rentwood$ near 2ashville. There she started the lon @ob of listin
and describin all the contents. Mitch had told her it was urent.
J
Tarrance was sur!rised when %bby came to the meetin instead of
Mitch. *ut she was no less efficient. #he ave him the instructions for
wirin the first million dollars to a ban' in Free!ort$ in the *ahamas.
&%nd when do we et the files=& Tarrance as'ed.
&%s soon as we hear the money&s in Free!ort$ we&ll send you a 'ey
to a storae room somewhere in Mem!his. %ny Euestions=&
&Yes. %re you ma'in !roress in ettin the dirty files=&
#he smiled. &0e already have most of what we need. *y the time
we finish we&ll have ten thousand dirty files for you.&
Tarrance was e;cited. &0here are they=&
&2ot with the clean files$ ) !romise you.&
&*ut you have them=&
BA
&Yes. 0ould you li'e to see a cou!le=&
&9f course.&
&You can ? as soon as /ay is out of !rison.&
J
Tarry /oss was 'nown to the Falumbo family as &%lfred&. The fewer
!eo!le who 'new his real name$ the betterD then his em!loyers$ the
F*)$ would never hear about his !rofitable e;tra wor'. The Falumbo
family decided to hel! the Morolto family. "a>arov told them he
wanted some information out of the F*). The Falumbos said they
would do it for half a million. "a>arov areed$ and .innie 3o>>o from
the Falumbo family met /oss.
&Ma'e it Euic'$ 3o>>o$& /oss said nervously.
&Did you ever hear of the *endini firm in Mem!his=& 3o>>o as'ed.
&2o.& The rule was always to say no at first. %nd always ma'e them
wait( that way the !rice went u!. 9f course he&d heard of *endini$
"ambert + "oc'e.
.innie went on$ &There&s someone down there named Mitchell
McDeere$ who wor's for this *endini firm. 0e want to 'now if he&s
G7 The Firm - John Grisham
been tal'in to your !eo!le. 0e thin' he&s sellin information to the
F*). 0e @ust want to 'now if we&re riht$ you 'now= That&s all.&
/oss listened with a straiht face$ thouh it wasn&t easy. He 'new
everythin about McDeere. He 'new that McDeere had met Tarrance
half a do>en times now. He 'new that tomorrow McDeere was
suddenly oin to et a million dollars.
&)&ll see what ) can do$& he said. &How much=&
&Two hundred thousand.&
&)n cash=& /oss said in ama>ement.
&Yeah. You can see we&re real serious about this. 3an you do it=&
I7
&Yes.&
&0hen=&
&Give me two wee's.&
3ha!ter 18 Fittin the Fieces Toether
)n the wee's before the end of the ta; year everyone in the firm was
es!ecially busy. 0ith no wife to o home to$ Mitch wor'ed later than
anyone else. *esides$ he had e;tra wor' to do. 9ne niht$ at three in
the mornin$ he unloc'ed %very&s office on the fourth floor with one
of the 'eys %bby had iven him. He remembered a lot of the names of
the files on Tammy&s list. He unloc'ed the file cu!boards and found
what he was loo'in for.
He carried the !a!ers over to the !hotoco!ier near %very&s office.
,very file in the firm had a number$ and none of the co!iers in the
buildin would start until they were !rorammed with a file number.
Mitch !rorammed the machine with the number of an innocent file
which was sittin on his des' downstairs$ and co!ied all 1C8 !ieces of
!a!er. He returned this file to %very&s office and came bac' with
another one. He !rorammed in a different number. That niht he
used eihteen file numbers from his own files and three he borrowed
from "amar :uin&s files.
% wire led from the co!ier throuh a hole in the wall and down the
inside of a cu!board$ where it @oined wires from three other co!iers on
the fourth floor. This new$ larer wire ran down to the third floor$
where a com!uter recorded every co!y made within the firm$ so that
they could bill the !ro!er client. %n innocent-loo'in rey wire ran
from this com!uter u! throuh the fourth floor to the fifth$ where
another com!uter recorded the same information$ and added the
details of which machine was used to ma'e the co!ies.
I1
J
De.asher was tryin to fit the !ieces toether. #omethin was wron$
but he couldn&t wor' out what it was. He voiced his thouhts to
"ambert and "oc'e.
&His wife leaves$ sayin her mother&s ot to have an o!eration and
that she&s tired of him. /iht= *ut from the conversations we&ve
G1 The Firm - John Grisham
recorded$ thins weren&t that bad between them. %nd why can&t we
find a hos!ital that&s heard of Ma;ine #utherland= 0e&ve chec'ed
every hos!ital in -entuc'y$ )ndiana and Tennessee. Doesn&t that seem
odd to you=&
&2ot really$& "ambert said. &Feo!le often use hos!itals on the other
side of the country if that&s where the s!ecialist doctor is. %nd her
!arents are rich !eo!le. They&d find the best medical hel!$ wherever it
was.&
"oc'e nodded and areed. &How much has he tal'ed to her=&
&#he calls about once a day. %ll they tal' about is her mother and
his wor' and stuff li'e that.&
&Hasn&t she mentioned the name of the hos!ital=& as'ed "oc'e.
&2ot once. #ometimes ) thin' it&s a tric' to et her out of town$ to
!rotect her.&
&) can&t believe that$& "ambert said. &There&s no !roof of that.&
De.asher loo'ed anrily at them and wal'ed nervously u! and
down behind his des'. &%bout ten days ao$ someone made a lot of
unusual co!ies on the fourth floor. %t three o&cloc' in the mornin. %t
the time$ only McDeere and #cott -imble were in the buildin.
2either of them has any business on the fourth floor. Twenty-one file
numbers were used. Three belon to "amar :uin&s files and the other
eihteen all belon to McDeere&s files. 2one belon to -imble. The
co!ier used was
IC
the one nearest to %very&s office$ and McDeere wor's closely with
%very. 0ho do you thin' made the co!ies=&
&How many=&
&Just over two thousand.&
&0hich files=&
&His own ta; clients. %t this time of year that seems fine$ doesn&t it=
*ut five days later his secretary used the same eihteen file numbers
to ma'e three hundred co!ies. )t seems to me that three hundred
co!ies is what you&d e;!ect for ta; clients at this time of year. *ut two
thousand=&
"oc'e and "ambert were listenin closely now.
&#o what was he co!yin=& De.asher continued. &) don&t 'now. *ut
%very&s ot cu!boards in his office where the real files are 'e!t.&
&He couldn&t co!y those files$& "ambert said.
&0hat else was he co!yin$ 9llie= )f he and Tarrance are tal'in$
what else would he want from %very&s office=&
&How could he et %very&s 'eys=& "oc'e as'ed.
&That&s the Euestion$ isn&t it=& De.asher said. &%very says he 'ee!s
them with him all the time. He also says that$ when he was on the
3aymans three wee's ao$ he sle!t alone both nihts. *ut he&s lyin.
"isten to this.&
He !layed them the recorded !hone conversation between Tammy
GC The Firm - John Grisham
and %bby.
&0ho are those women=& "oc'e demanded.
&0e don&t 'now. The one in his house must be someone he brouht
home from a bar. *ut why is she callin a friend= )t&s too much to
thin' that these women too' his 'eys and manaed to co!y them in
the middle of the niht without his 'nowin anythin about it. %nd
that they are friends of McDeere&s.&
&) aree$& said "ambert.
&0hat about all the secret files in the beach house=& as'ed "oc'e.
IG
&)&ve thouht about that$ 2at. "et&s say she had the 'eys -thouh
that&s unli'ely ? and let&s say she o!ened the room and found the
files. 0hat&s she oin to do with them in the middle of the niht with
%very aslee! u!stairs=&
&#he could read them.&
&) don&t thin' so. There are too many of them.&
&#he could be wor'in for the F*).&
&2o$ definitely not$& De.asher said. &#he&s no !rofessional. 2o
!rofessional would ma'e a !hone call li'e that. ) can only thin' that
she and her friend were after his wallet$ and somethin went wron.&
"oc'e and "ambert areed.
&*ut we&ve ot to be safe$& De.asher said. &) want all the loc's
chaned on the third and fourth floors$ and in the beach house. ) want
everyone on Grand 3ayman who can co!y 'eys Euestioned. %nd
%very&s a ris'. ) want him to leave for a while. Fretend he&s ill or
somethin and has to ta'e time off wor'.&
J
9n #aturday$ Mitch went to visit /ay in !rison. *y tal'in in #!anish$
and when the uards were nowhere near them$ Mitch warned him to
be ready to esca!e in a few days& time.
0hen he ot bac' to Mem!his he !ar'ed his *M0 in the centre of
town.
The fair-haired man with a moustache$ whose name was %aron
/immer$ called De.asher. &He&s only one sho!!in$& he said. &)&ll stay
with the car until he comes bac' for it.&
Mitch wal'ed into a sho! and used a !ay !hone to call for a ta;i to
meet him at the side entrance in ten minutes. The ta;i too' him to the
a!artment at *rentwood. He 'noc'ed on the door.
&0ho is it=& a nervous female voice as'ed from inside. He heard the
voice and felt wea'.
IB
&*arry %ban's$& he said.
%bby o!ened the door and rushed into his arms.
%fter an hour on the bed the !ain of loneliness was forotten.
KThey wal'ed throuh the small a!artment holdin hands and 'issin.
Mitch saw for the first time the enormous amounts of !a!er. He had
GG The Firm - John Grisham
seen Tammy&s notes and lists but not the actual !a!ers. 9ne day soon
he would s!end hours here$ studyin the !a!ers and !re!arin his
evidence.
3ha!ter 1A %very&s )llness
9n Monday mornin Mitch&s secretary told him that "ambert wanted
to see him. &*ut don&t foret that you&re due at Mulhol-land&s office in
the 3otton #hi!!in *uildin soon$& she added.
1! in "ambert&s office they tal'ed for a while about %very&s
illness. "ambert sounded worried about him.
&) visited him in hos!ital yesterday$& Mitch said. &He seemed 9-.
)t&s his heart$ the doctors said.&
&%nyway$& "ambert said$ &he&s oin to be away for two months.
0hile he&s away$ ) want you to wor' with .ictor Millian. *ut before
you start$ %very&s ot some unfinished business in the 3aymans. )
want you to o down there tomorrow on the !rivate @et. Tomorrow
mornin )&ll ive you a file about the clients to read on the @et. 9-=&
&9f course. 2o !roblem.&
*ut he was thin'in( somethin is wron here.
He met Tammy in her office in the 3otton #hi!!in *uildin.
&) want you to call Tarrance$& he said. &%s' him to investiate
%very Tolleson&s illness. )&m not sure it&s real.&
&9-.&
II
&Did you tal' to %ban's=&
&Yes.&
&Did he et the money=&
&Yes. )t was wired on Friday.&
&)s he ready=&
&He said he was.&
&Good. 0hat about the man who&s ma'in us new documents=&
&They call him the Doctor. )&m meetin him this afternoon. He&s an
old friend of ,ddie&s. ,ddie said he was the best in the country.&
&) ho!e so. 0e need new names. %re you 9- for money=&
&)&ve nearly finished the fifty thousand you ave me.&
&How about another fifty thousand=&
&Fine.&
They smiled at each other as he left.
J
"ate that niht /ay McDeere wal'ed out of !rison. )t was as easy as
that. % uard came to fetch him. &) don&t 'now who your friends are$&
he said$ &but they must be im!ortant.& He too' him out to the !rison
walls. &The lihts are oin to o off for a while$& he said. &You&ll find a
ro!e ladder on the wall. %ll you have to do is climb over the wall.
#omeone will meet you on the other side. ) don&t believe this. Your
face will be all over the !a!ers tomorrow$ but toniht you can do what
you want.& Twelve hours later /ay was in Mobile$ %labama.
GB The Firm - John Grisham
3ha!ter C7 Ma@or Trouble
9n 0ednesday mornin Tarry /oss climbed the stairs to the fourth
floor of the hotel. .innie 3o>>o o!ened the door at his 'noc'.
I6
&Good mornin$ %lfred$& he said warmly. &0ould you li'e some
coffee=&
&) didn&t come here for coffee$& said /oss. &0here&s the money=&
&First you have to tal' to me$& 3o>>o said.
&9-. 0e&ve iven McDeere a million dollars already. 0e !aid it into
a ban' in the *ahamas$ but he&s already moved it out of there$ and we
don&t 'now where. %nother million is on the way. He&s delivered one
lot of *endini documents and says he has ten thousand more. He&s
tal'ed to our aents many times in the last si; months. He&ll ive
evidence at the trials and then disa!!ear as a !rotected witness.&
&0here are the other documents=&
&He isn&t sayin. *ut he&s ready to deliver them.&
%s soon as /oss had left$ .innie 3o>>o called "a>arov.
Tarry /oss wal'ed hurriedly down the hall. He had almost reached
the lift when a hand reached out of nowhere and !ulled him into a
room. He was thrown to the floor and his briefcase full of money was
em!tied on to the bed.
LYou disust me$ /oss$M said .oyles. L) canMt believe itMs you. 0hat
did you tell 3o>>o=M
/oss bean to tal'.
J
De.asher ran down the staris to the fourth floor and burst into
"oc'eNs office. Half the !artners were there and the rest were on their
way.
He Euic'ly told them what 3o>>o had told "a>arov. Lthe F*) have
had !lenty of our files for about a wee' already. They havenMt
moved. That must mean that this first lot of files is clean. McDeere
was @ust warnin them u!. HeMs in it for the money. *ut we have to
su!!ose that the ne;t lot of files will destroy us. 0here is McDeere=M
I5
Millian s!o'e. &)n his office. ) @ust tal'ed to him. He sus!ects
nothin.&
&Good. He&s due to leave in three hours for Grand 3ayman isn&t he$
"ambert=&
&Yes. %round midday.&
&The @et will never arrive. There&ll be an e;!losion.&
&The @et=& as'ed one of the !artners.
&Yeah$ the @et. Don&t worry$ we&ll buy you another toy. "a>arov is
on his way. %s soon as we&ve ot rid of McDeere$ we&re oin to loo'
lon and hard at this o!eration$ and ma'e whatever chanes are
necessary.&
"oc'e stood u! and said to "ambert$ &Just ma'e sure McDeere&s on
GI The Firm - John Grisham
that @et.&
J
Mitch&s secretary !ic'ed u! the !hone. &Mr McDeere&s office$& she
said.
&) need to s!ea' to him$& the man&s voice said.
&)&m sorry$ he&s busy at the moment.&
&"isten$ youn lady$ this is Jude Henry Huo$ and he was
su!!osed to be in my courtroom fifteen minutes ao. 0e&re waitin
for him. )t&s an emerency.&
&There&s nothin in his diary for this mornin.&
&That&s your fault. 2ow let me s!ea' to him.&
#he ran to Mitch&s office and said$ &There&s a Jude Huo on the
!hone. He says you&re su!!osed to be in his court.&
Mitch @um!ed to his feet and rabbed the !hone. He was !ale.
&Yes=& he said.
&Mr McDeere$& Tarrance said. &Jude Huo. You&re late for my
court. Get over here.&
&Yes$ sir.& He dro!!ed the !hone and rabbed his coat and briefcase.
He was out of the office in two minutes. &Jude Huo& was the name
Tarrance had told Mitch he would use if
I8
somethin went Owron and the boys on the fifth floor were after him.
He ran east for about half a mile. He made sure that no one was
followin him and then called Tarrance from a !ay !hone.
&0hat&s ha!!enin$ Tarrance=&
&.oyles @ust called me from 0ashinton. 9ne of our men has
tal'ed
&God< ) 'new this would ha!!en. ) 'new ) should never trust you<
You !eo!le are inefficient fools$& Mitch shouted.
&Don&t worry$ Mitch. 0e can !rotect you.&
&Yeah= )&ve heard that before. For some funny reason ) @ust don&t
trust you at the moment$ Tarrance. You tell me you&re oin to !rotect
me for the rest of my life$ then )&m nearly unned down in my own
office< That&s reat< From now on$ ) o my own way$ Tarrance.&
&0hat about the documents= 0e !aid you.&
&0ron$ Tarrance. You !aid me for what you&ve already ot.
/emember= Goodbye$ 0ayne.&
He !ut the !hone down. %t the other end Tarrance threw his !hone
aainst the wall.
Mitch had another call to ma'e. &Hi$ Tammy$& he said when she
!ic'ed u! the !hone.
&Hi. 0hat&s the matter=&
&Ma@or trouble. 2o time to e;!lain. )&m runnin and they&re riht
behind me. 3all %bby at her !arents& house. Tell her to dro!
everythin and et out. #he doesn&t have time to !ac' a suitcase. Tell
her to catch a !lane to Mobile. There she sins in at the Ferdido
G6 The Firm - John Grisham
*each Hilton under the name of /achel James.&
&9-. %nythin else=&
&Yeah. Get the documents from the Doctor$ then fly to 2ashville
and stay in the *rentwood a!artment. Do not leave the !hone. Then
call %ban's.&
&9-. 0hat about you=&
IA
&)&ll be comin to 2ashville$ but )&m not sure when. "isten$ Tammy$
tell %bby she could be dead within the hour if she doesn&t run. Move.&
&9-$boss.&
%t the air!ort Mitch bouht several tic'ets in his own name for
various destinations around the country. )n the name of #am Fortune$
and in cash$ he bouht a tic'et for 3incinnati.
J
"a>arov entered the corner office on the fourth floor and no one could
meet his eyes.
&0e can&t find him$& De.asher said.
&You mean he @ust ot u! and wal'ed out of here=& "a>arov as'ed.
There was no answer. 2one was needed.
&%ll riht$ De.asher. This is the !lan. #end every man you&ve ot to
the air!ort. 3hec' with every airline. 0here&s his car=&
&)n the car !ar'.&
&He wal'ed out of here on foot= Joey&s oin to love this. How many
!artners have we ot=&
&#i;teen who are here.&
&Divide them u! in !airs and send them to all the ma@or air!orts in the
country. Go and et his wife. Don&t hurt her yetD @ust brin her in.
Hurry<&
J
.oyles had also come down to Mem!his. %t that moment he was in
Tarrance&s office$ ivin very similar instructions to his men as
"a>arov was ivin to his.
3ha!ter C1 9n the /un
From 3incinnati$ Mitch flew to 2ashville. He hired a van and drove
to the a!artment. 9n the way he bouht some eEui!ment from a
!hotora!hy sho!.
0hen he arrived Tammy ave him some food. %t ten he called the
Ferdido Hilton. He as'ed for /achel James$ but she hadn&t arrived.
He as'ed for "ee #tevens. %fter a few moments someone !ic'ed u!
the !hone.
&Yeah=&
&This is Mitch. 3onratulations.&
/ay fell on the bed and closed his eyes. &)t was so easy$ Mitch.
How did you do it=&
&)&ll tell you when we have time. *ut at the moment there are a lot
of !eo!le tryin to 'ill %bby and me. 0e&re on the run. Don&t as' me
G5 The Firm - John Grisham
about it now. )t&s the Mafia and the F*).&
&)s that all=&
Mitch lauhed. &%bby will be arrivin at your hotel soon. 3hec'
that she isn&t bein followed$ 9-= #he&s callin herself /achel James.&
He ave /ay the number of the *rentwood a!artment. &/emember that
number$ /ay. )f )&m not here$ someone called Tammy will be. You
can trust her. Ta'e care of my wife and call me when she ets there.&
&9-$ Mitch. %nd than's.&
J
%bby arrived an hour later in a hired car. #he !ar'ed and wal'ed
towards the front door of the hotel. #he sto!!ed for a second and
loo'ed behind her.
Two minutes later a yellow ta;i from Mobile also !ar'ed. /ay
watched the ta;i. % woman ot out of the bac' and wal'ed into the
hotel. /ay followed her.
The woman a!!roached the counter and as'ed for a room.
61
Then she said$ &0hat&s the name of that lady who @ust sined in here=
#he seemed familiar. ) thin' she&s an old friend.&
The cler' loo'ed throuh his cards. &/achel James$& he said. $
&Yeah$ that&s her. 0hat room is she in= )&d li'e to say hello.&
&) can&t ive room numbers$& said the cler'.
The woman !ulled two twenties from her !urse and slid them
across the counter. &) only want to say hello.&
The cler' too' the money. &/oom 6CC.&
&0here are the !hones=& the woman as'ed.
&%round the corner$& said the cler'$ and !ointed.
/ay ot there first. He rabbed a !hone and !retended to be tal'in
to someone. He heard only a few words of the woman&s
conversation(&. . . Mobile . . . /oom 6CC . . . send some hel! . . . an
hour= 9-.&
Ten minutes later there was a 'noc' at the door of her room. The
woman @um!ed u! from the bed$ rabbed her un and stuc' it into her
trousers under her shirt. #he cautiously o!ened the door.
/ay burst in and 'noc'ed her aainst the wall. He @um!ed at her$
too' her un and !inned her to the floor. 0ith her face in the car!et$
he !ushed the un into her ear. &)f you move or ma'e a sound$& he said$
&)&ll 'ill you.&
He o!ened her suitcase. &9!en your mouth$& he said$ and !ushed a
!air of soc's in. He tied her u! tihtly with clothes from her case and
slid her under the bed. Then he left with her un.
J
The !hone went at 1 a.m.$ and Mitch was not aslee!. He was studyin
documents.
&Hello$&he answered cautiously.
&)t&s /ay.&
G8 The Firm - John Grisham
&0here are you$ /ay= ) can hear music&
&)n a bar. 0e had to move out of the hotelD %bby was followed.&
&%bby&s there= #he&s safe=&
6C
/ay hurst in and 'noc'ed her aainst the wall. He @um!ed at her$ too'
her un and !inned her to the floor.
&Yeah. 2ow what=&
&Drive to Fanama 3ity *each and et two rooms at the Holiday Hotel.
3all me when you&re there.& &) ho!e you 'now what you&re doin.&
&Trust me$ /ay.&
&) do$ but )&m beinnin to wish ) was bac' in !rison.& &You can&t o
bac'$ /ay. 0e either disa!!ear or we&re dead.&
3ha!ter CC The Hunt Gets 3loser
The ta;i sto!!ed in the middle of 2ashville and Mitch ot out. He
entered the #outheastern *an' *uildin and as'ed to see Mr "aycoo'.
He had learned a lot over the last few wee's. He 'new all the riht
dates and numbers to !ass the ban'&s tests. They let him wire ten
million dollars out of the /oyal *an' of Montreal in Grand 3ayman
into their ban'. %s soon as it arrived he moved a million to his
mother&s ban'$ a million to %bby&s !arents& ban' and a million for
Tammy. The other seven million @oined what was left of the F*)
money in his ban' in Purich.
9n the to! floor of the /oyal *an' of Montreal in Grand 3ayman$
/andol!h 9sood was informed$ as was !ro!er$ of the movement of a
lare amount of money. He !ic'ed u! the !hone and called Mem!his.
% rece!tionist told him that Mr Tolleson was not available. Then
2athan "oc'e= he as'ed. Mr "oc'e is out of town. .ictor Millian=
Mr Millian is away too.
9sood decided to try aain tomorrow.
J
2e;t day the hunt ot closer. The !olice were loo'in for a man who
had attac'ed a woman in the Ferdido *each Hilton. 0hen /ay
McDeere&s !icture a!!eared in the !a!ers as an esca!ed murderer$ the
hotel cler' connected him with the attac' and told the !olice that he
was with a woman called /achel James. The
6B
victim of the attac'$ -aren %dair$ su!!orted by her boyfriend %aron
/immer$ areed that the criminal was /ay McDeere. Then the cler'
remembered that /achel James was drivin a white 3utlass. The
!olice bean to search for the car.
J
)t too' seventeen tri!s from the a!artment to the van with all the
bo;es. Then Mitch sat in the a!artment and wrote down instructions
for Tammy. He also told her that there was a million dollars waitin
for her in her ban'.
He s!o'e to %bby at the Holiday Hotel in Fanama 3ity *each. #he
GA The Firm - John Grisham
told him about the !olice hunt for /ay$ which was in all the
news!a!ers.
&0here&s /ay now=&
&9n the beach$ tryin to brown his face. )&ve told him everythin.
He&s also had a haircut.&
&Good idea. %bby$ you must cut your hair and colour it blonde. *ut
first you must et out of there. Just wal' out. Ma'e it loo' as if you&re
oin for a wal' on the beach. *ut a mile east alon the beach is a
small hotel called the *lue Tide. #in in there as Jac'ie 2ael. )&ll be
there soon. Don&t worryD there are so many hotels and buildins alon
the beach there that it&ll ta'e them a year to search them all.&
Twelve hours later the three of them were toether.
3ha!ter CG Fanama 3ity *each
Joey Morolto flew down with forty of his men. He settled himself in
the #and!i!er Hotel. The first thin he did was et all the available
!artners and associates from Mem!his to come to %labama. These
!eo!le 'new McDeereD they could reconi>e him.
6I
Three miles alon the beach$ F. Denton .oyles and Tarrance were
sittin in their hotel$ waitin for news. They had si;ty F*) aents and
hundreds of local co!s searchin for the car.
The white 3utlass was found at nine in the mornin in the car !ar'
of an a!artment buildin in Fanama 3ity *each. .oyles immediately
moved all his men down there.
% local co! !honed that nice Mr /immer to tell him the news$ so
that he and his !retty irlfriend would feel better. Mr /immer called
"a>arov at the #and!i!er. /immer and "a>arov immediately moved
all their men down to Fanama 3ity *each.
J
)t too' only a few minutes for the van to become hot news. The man
who had rented it to Mitch was readin his mornin !a!er and he
remembered the name &McDeere&. He loo'ed throuh his records and
!honed the !olice. % short while later .oyles and Tarrance ot the
news. They reali>ed that the van must be for carryin the files.
J
%t nine$ Mitch called Tammy. #he had the new documents and
!ass!orts. Mitch told her to send them to #am Fortune at the *lue
Tide Hotel and ave her the address. He told her to ma'e sure they
arrived the ne;t day. Finally he told her to leave 2ashville$ drive to
-no;ville and call him from there.
*y midday$ all the roads to the coast around Fanama 3ity *each
were closed by the !olice. "a>arov and Morolto were in the *est
0estern Hotel$ while their men were out searchin.
%t four in the afternoon$ a cler' in the Holiday Hotel told the !olice
that %bby McDeere was !robably the woman who had !aid cash for
two rooms for three nihts but hadn&t really used either of them.
B7 The Firm - John Grisham
%t B.I8$ a !olice car sto!!ed in the car !ar' of a chea! hotel and
found the van Mitch had rented. )t was em!ty.
66
J
%ndy Fatric' had first one to !rison$ for four months$ when he was
nineteen. #ince then he had committed !lenty of minor crimes. He
hated violence. He hated co!s. % co! had once beaten him so badly
that he lost one eye.
#i; months ao he found himself in Fanama 3ity *each and ot a
@ob as a cler' at the *lue Tide Hotel. %round nine on Friday niht he
was watchin T. when the co! wal'ed in.
&0e&re loo'in for some !eo!le$& said the co!$ and laid !ictures on
the counter. &#een any of them=&
%ndy studied the !ictures. He thouht he reconi>ed the one of
Mitchell Y. McDeere. His criminal&s mind bean to wor'.
&) haven&t seen them$& he said. &)&ll tell you if ) do.&
&They&re danerous$& said the co!.
You&re the danerous one$ %ndy thouht.
%s soon as the co! had left$ %ndy went and 'noc'ed on the door of
/oom G8. He could see the red lihts of !olice cars !assin on the
road behind the hotel.
&0ho&s there=& a woman&s voice said.
&The manaer$& %ndy re!lied.
Mitch o!ened the door. %ndy could see he was nervous. &0hat is
it=& he as'ed.
&The !olice were @ust here$& %ndy e;!lained. &They showed me
some !ictures. ) said ) couldn&t reconi>e them. Do you 'now what )
mean= They said one of these !eo!le had been in !rison. )&ve been in
!rison too$ and ) thin' everyone should esca!e. %m ) ma'in myself
clear=&
&Yes$& Mitch said. &0hat&s your name=&
&%ndy.&
&%ndy$ )&ll ive you a thousand dollars now$ and another thousand
tomorrow$ if you&re still unable to reconi>e any of the faces in the
!ictures.&
65
&Five thousand a day$& %ndy said.
&9-. %nd )&ll ive you another five thousand to brin me a small
!ac'et that will arrive tomorrow mornin.&
&Good.& %ndy went bac' to his counter.
*ac' in the room$ Mitch said$ &) thin' our luc' has @ust chaned for
the better.&
3ha!ter CB 9n the Floor %mon the *o;es
&0hy here=& "a>arov as'ed. &0hy did they choose Fanama 3ity
*each= They&re tra!!ed here. The co!s have ot the whole !lace
covered. There are only about si;ty of our men$ and the co!s have ot
B1 The Firm - John Grisham
hundreds. #o the chances are that they&ll find them before we do.&
Morolto nodded. &#o we&ve ot to im!rove our chances.&
&"eave that to me$& De.asher said. &*ut why here= )t&s ood for
them that there are a lot of small hotels$ but we can still send our
!eo!le to search them$ room by room. )t&ll ta'e time$ but we can do it.&
&The water<& Morolto suddenly shouted. &They&re oin to try to
esca!e by sea$ in the dar'<&
&That ma'es sense to me$& De.asher said.
&#o where are our boats=& Morolto said.
"a>arov @um!ed from his seat and bean shoutin orders down the
!hone. He wanted his men to hire every available boat and stay out at
sea$ waitin.
De.asher ave his own orders to /immer and his men. /im-mer
drove u! to Tallahassee and !honed the !olice from there. &"isten<& he
said e;citedly. &) @ust saw those three !eo!le you&re after. They&re
drivin a reen Ford van< They&re oin south<&
Five minutes later Fat Tony .er'ler did e;actly the same from a
few miles further south.
68
0ithin a cou!le of hours nearly all the local co!s had returned to
their stations$ and all the F*) aents were travellin south.
J
Mitch$ %bby and /ay watched the news on T.. 2ow that the !olice
search had moved away from Fanama 3ity *each it was more
danerous for them. The !olice only wanted to arrest themD Morolto&s
men wanted to 'ill them.
,arly the ne;t mornin Mitch sat bac' down on the floor amon all
the bo;es. He nodded at %bby$ who was o!eratin the camera. He
continued ivin evidence. %fter si;teen hours he had nearly finished.
0ith the hel! of Tammy&s lists he told the court where they could find
nine hundred million dollars of Mafia money in ban's. He then
e;!lained how the whole system wor'ed and who the most im!ortant
fiures were. For si; hours he e;!lained the various methods the
Moroltos and their lawyers used to turn dirty money into clean. He
'new that the evidence was incom!lete$ but when the F*) had these
films they could easily et !ermission to search the whole *endini
*uildin and all its com!uter records.
J
%t 17.GI %ndy Fatric' received the envelo!e addressed to #am
Fortune. He started to ta'e it over to /oom G8 but sto!!ed when he
saw two men 'noc'in at the doors to the rooms. He went bac' to the
rece!tion des' and !honed /oom G8.
&Mr Fortune= ) thin' you should 'now there are two men comin
your way. They&re 'noc'in on all the doors.&
&%re they co!s=&
&) don&t thin' so. They didn&t come and see me first.&
BC The Firm - John Grisham
&Than's. 0e&ll switch the lihts off and not answer the door.
They&ll thin' the room&s em!ty. 0hat about the !ac'et=&
6A
&)t&s here.&
&9-. 3an you brin it over as soon as it&s safe=&
&Yeah.&
J
)n /oom G8 they admired the new documents and !ass!orts. The
Doctor certainly 'new his wor'.
&0e have to celebrate$& /ay said. &*esides$ )&m oin cra>y in here.
)&m oin to et us some beers.&
&/ay$ no$& Mitch said. &There&s no need to ta'e chances.&
*ut /ay wasn&t listenin. He stayed close to the walls until he
reached the end of the hotel. There was a row of sho!s ne;t to the
hotel. He waited until he was sure no one was loo'in and then went
into the su!ermar'et.
)n the car !ar' in front of the sho!s "amar :uin saw /ay enter the
sho!. The way the man moved was familiar. He wal'ed over to the
sho! and went inside. He too' a 3o'e and waited to !ay for it until he
came face to face with the man. )t wasn&t Mitch McDeere$ but he
loo'ed @ust li'e him.
)t was /ay. )t had to be. The face was dar'er than his !rison
!hotora!h$ and he was wearin sunlasses$ but this was definitely a
McDeere.
&How&s it oin=& "amar said to the man.
&Fine. You=& ,ven the voice was similar.
"amar !aid for his drin' and returned to the car !ar'. He calmly
!ut the 3o'e in his car. Then he went to the ne;t sho! to continue his
search for the McDeeres.
3ha!ter CI The Fier
The Dan /ussell Fier was the one which was furthest west of the three
!iers on Fanama 3ity *each. )t was about half a mile east of
57
the *lue Tide. %t eleven-thirty %bby left /oom G8 and bean wal'in
east alon the beach. Five minutes later Mitch left. 0hile %bby was
dressed to loo' li'e a tourist$ Mitch was dressed all in blac'. #o was
/ay$ who left five minutes after Mitch$ loc'in the door behind him.
%t midniht %bby stood at the end of the !ier. Mitch sat on a chair
at the beach end of the !ier. /ay was standin on the sand about fifty
yards away.
%bby hid as much of her torch as !ossible in her coat and !ointed
it out to sea. #he switched it on and off$ on and off. There was no
re!ly. #he tried aain. %ain there was no re!ly.
From the corner of his eye Mitch saw someone @um! on to the !ier
and wal' Euic'ly towards %bby. )t was /immer. Mitch was u! and
runnin silently after him.
BG The Firm - John Grisham
/immer wal'ed u! behind %bby and called her name. #he turned
round and started to scream. /immer @um!ed at her and at the same
time Mitch dived head first into his les. %ll three fell down on to the
hard surface of the !ier. /immer hit Mitch hard in the eye and
reached for his un. He never found it. /ay chared into him and hit
him aain and aain until he was unconscious.
&#witch on the torch aain$ %bby$& /ay said as he unwra!!ed the
ro!e from his waist. #he turned out to sea and did as he said.
&0hat are you oin to do=& Mitch whis!ered$ watchin /ay and
the ro!e.
&0e can either shoot him or drown him$& /ay said. &0e have to do
one or the other.&
&9h$ my God<&said %bby.
&Don&t fire the un$& Mitch whis!ered.
&) aree$& /ay said. He twisted the ro!e around /immer&s nec' and
tihtened it. /immer didn&t move. %fter three minutes /ay slid the
body at the end of the ro!e down into the water.
%ban's was late$ but he found a way throuh the small boats
51
/ay twisted the ro!e around /immer&s nec' and tihtened it.
/immer didn&t move.
which were waitin out at sea. 2one of Morolto&s men even saw him
come$ and none of them saw him o with his three new !asseners.
J
%t si; in the mornin Tammy !honed Tarrance$ @ust as Mitch had said
she should.
&You can have the files now$ 0ayne$& she said. &They&re in /oom G8$
*lue Tide Hotel$ Fanama 3ity *each. The cler' is called %ndy and
he&ll let you into the room. *e careful with the files$ 0ayne$ we&ve
ta'en a lot of time and trouble ettin them all neat for you. %nd
you&ll find si;teen hours of film there too.& &) have @ust one Euestion$&
Tarrance said tiredly. &0here is he=& &*y now$& said Tammy$ &they&re
on a !lane to #outh %merica. )&ve ot to o. Goodbye.&
J
The boat %ban's had bouht them was !erfect. 0ith it and the money
they could s!end the rest of their lives sailin in lu;ury amon the
thousands of islands in the 0est )ndies. They could have homes on
two or three of the smaller ones$ li'e "ittle 3ayman$ where no one
ever came. %ban's tauht them all he 'new about boatin and about
the islands.
They 'new from news!a!ers that the firm and the Morolto family
were finished. Fifty-one !resent and !ast members of the firm were
arrested$ and the Morolto family trials would o on for years. The
Mem!his news!a!ers listed the names of all the arrested lawyers. %s
Mitch read their names he saw their faces. He almost felt sorry for
some of them$ and he !itied their wives and children. 0hat a waste of
BB The Firm - John Grisham
talent.
&) love you$ Mitch.& %bby was standin behind him. &0e&ll be 9-.
%s lon as we&re toether we can handle anythin.&
&) never really wanted to be a lawyer$ anyway$& Mitch said. &)
always wanted to be a sailor.&
%3T).)T),#
3ha!ters 1-8
*efore you read
1 0ould you !refer to wor' for the Mafia or the F*)= 0hy=
C Find these words in your dictionary( aent
associate bade client co!
firm investiate security surveillance 0hich of them o in the
followin s!aces=
a a business......... Qtwo !ossibilitiesR
b ........ eEui!ment
c a secret .........
d a metal .........
e a traffic .........
f to......... a crime
a......... uard
h a leal ........
%fter you read
G 0hich of these !eo!le are lawyers= 0ho are the others= 9liver
"ambert S /ay McDeere S "amar :uinn S ,ddie "oma; De.asher S
"a>arov S %very Tolleson S 2athan "oc'e
B 0hich of these sentences are true= 3orrect the false ones. a
The firm advertises for new associates every two years. b
Mitch wor's hard because he wants to be a !artner.
c "ambert and "oc'e want to bu Mitch&s home.
d De.asher wor's on the fifth floor.
e %bby is ha!!y about her husband&s @ob.
I 0hat does the firm thin' of these$ and why=
wor'in wives S lon wor'in hours S marriae
alcohol S !retty secretaries S secrecy S honesty
3ha!ters A-16
*efore you read
6 0ill Mitch hel! the F*)$ do you thin'= 0hy$ or why not=
5B
5 Find these words in your dictionary(
arrest bi'ini briefcase evidence
leendary !hotoco!y storae wire
0rite sentences to show the meanin of these words clearly.
%fter you read
8 0hat is strane about the deaths of the five lawyers=
A 0ho are these sentences about$ and why=
a He smiles when he sees the !hotora!hs. b He
BI The Firm - John Grisham
meets him in a hotel room in 0ashinton. c #he
rents a small office in Mem!his. d He&s anry
because she&s leavin. e #he ta'es his 'eys.
17 0or' in !airs. %ct out this conversation.
#tudent %( You are %bby. You want Mitch to leave the firm. ,;!lain
to him why. #tudent *( You are Mitch. You don&t want
to leave the firm. Tell
%bby why.
3ha!ters 15-CI
*efore you read
11 How will %very Tolleson feel when he finds out what Tammy has
done$ do you thin'= 0hy=
1C 0here can you see a !ier= 0hat do !eo!le do on a !ier=
%fter you read
1G How are these !eo!le hel!ful or danerous to Mitch=
Tarry /oss S *arry %ban's S %aron /immer S %ndy Fatric'
1B 0ho uses these names$ and when=
*arry %ban's S Jude Henry Huo S /achel James #am
Fortune S "ee #tevens S Jac'ie 2ael
1I How are these im!ortant to the story=
a van S 2ashville S a yellow ta;i S Holiday Hotel *lue
Tide Hotel S Dan /ussell Fier
5I
0ritin
16 You are Tarrance. 0rite a re!ort for the F*) on "ambert and
"oc'e. #ay why they should be arrested.
15 You are Mitch. %fter ,ddie "oma; tells you how the lawyers really
died$ you decide to leave the firm. 0rite a letter to your boss. Tell
him why you are leavin.

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